The 33-year-old travel manager suffers from back pain and has been diagnosed with weight loss – valley fever –

Suffering from debilitating chest pain and weight loss, a 33-year-old travel executive has been diagnosed with Valley Fever, a life-threatening fungal infection that has eventually spread across America.

Desiree Chan, who lives in Los Angeles, was hit with pain when she stepped out of the bathroom just before New Year’s Eve in 2020. He took painkillers, but his symptoms did not go away, and a cough with mucus appeared over the next few days. she was having trouble speaking and she was still battling night sweats that kept her from changing her clothes.

Doctors were stunned by tests for pneumonia, tuberculosis, HIV and other negative results. But eventually, during a 10-day emergency room trip, an antibody test came back positive for a yeast infection.

Valley fever is spreading across the United States thanks to climate change, and cases have doubled annually over the past five years to reach 20,000. It is caught by inhaling spores from degraded soil in the American Southwest and Washington, and those working in rural areas are most at risk.

However, when conditions did not improve and after coughing, Ms. Chan was sent to the emergency room. There the doctors ran multiple tests before determining it was valley fever.

Chan said he took medication to fight the infection, but felt sluggish and tired, which meant he couldn’t go back to work.

It took until mid-May 2021 before she started to feel better. At this point, her partner suggested Lucas Marton, 34 (pictured above with Chan)

Most cases of valley fever are mild and symptoms resolve within a few weeks.

However, with the disease caused by the Coccidioides fungus, one in ten infections becomes severe and takes months to heal. Meanwhile, nodules form in the lungs and patients experience chest pain, weight loss, and fever.

In rare cases, a fungal infection can be fatal.

People with weakened immune systems, gestational diabetes, or people of Black or Filipino descent are most at risk.

There is no cure with treatment based on early detection to quickly reduce symptoms. Infected patients cannot pass the fungus to others.

Chan told Insider that the illness started a year and a half ago when he had pain in his neck and back on New Year’s Eve while getting out of the tub.

Six days later it turned into a mucous cough and the pain spread to the rest of his body.

He described his symptoms and said, “It looked like an elephant had stepped on my breasts.”

At first the doctors thought he had regular back pain and gave him painkillers, but when the other symptom appeared he switched to cough medicines.

But when the illness did not subside, they sent him for X-rays, which revealed small lumps in his lungs, leading them to suspect pneumonia.

He was then hospitalized for ten days in the emergency room, where doctors performed a series of tests.

But Pap tests came back negative for tuberculosis, HIV, Legionnaires’ disease, Covid, and many other fungal infections. At one point, doctors even considered a lung biopsy to check for cancer.

However, an antibody test was eventually done for valley fever and the result was positive.

He was then given heavy doses of the antifungal fluconazole given until November 2021 to fight the infection.

But Chan said they reduced his appetite, clouded his brain, and forced him to take a few months off.

It took another six months to start feeling better.

He said: “It wasn’t until mid-May of this year that I started to feel like I had regained my strength and my clear mind.”

But at that moment, his 34-year-old partner, Lucas Marton, proposed to her.

Chan is unsure how he contracted the disease, despite suffering from soil disturbance and respiratory wounds.

He revealed his diagnosis and experience to raise awareness of the disease.

The couple was photographed together. Now engaged after her battle with the disease

Valley fever is spreading across the United States and caused 20,000 cases last year, more than double the number five years ago (photo of the fungus)

It has been recorded in the southwestern United States and Washington. It is caught by breathing in the spores released when the soil is disturbed.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that people in areas where valley fever is present should avoid breathing dust.

Staying indoors during dust storms, avoiding gardening and digging, and using indoor air filtration are other ways to prevent disease.

Surveillance shows that although most cases are mild, around 20,000 people become ill each year.

But experts warn that many cases are likely undiagnosed due to a lack of awareness among doctors, meaning they don’t test for the disease.