coccidioidomycosis /koksid′ē·oi′dōmīkō″sis/ [Gk, kokkos, berry, eidos, form, mykes, fungus, osis, condition] , an infectious fungal disease caused by the inhalation of spores of the protozoon Coccidioides immitis or C. posadasii, which is carried on windborne dust particles. The disease is endemic in hot, dry regions of the southwestern United States and Central and South America and is an opportunistic disease associated with human immunodeficiency virus infection and leukemia. Primary infection is characterized by symptoms resembling those of the common cold or pulmonary infection. Secondary infection, occurring after a period of remission and lasting from weeks to years, is marked by low-grade fever, anorexia and weight loss, cyanosis, dyspnea, hemoptysis, focal skin lesions resembling erythema nodosum, and arthritic pain in the bones and joints. The diagnosis is made by finding that the patient has been living in or visiting an endemic area and by identifying C. immitis in sputum, exudate, or tissue. Treatment usually consists of bed rest and the administration of antibiotics, such as amphotericin B or fluconazole. Also called desert fever, desert rheumatism, San Joaquin fever, valley fever.
