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Valley fever hit epidemic proportions last year and experts are wondering if 2002 will be a repeat.

If the disease infects anywhere near the same number of Kern County residents as it did in the early 1990s, the cost could be staggering. During the epidemic years of 1991-93, valley fever costs mounted to more than $56 million. A similar outbreak now could mean even greater costs.

Researchers are making progress toward a vaccine, but the going has been slow. The Californian examines the impact of the disease and the efforts of those ìFighting the Fever.î

Valley fever poses danger to man's best friend

By MICHELLE TERWILLEGER Californian staff writer e-mail: mterwilleger@bakersfield.com

Sunday June 23, 2002, 12:00:00 AM

Dan Ocampo / The Californian Cris Reep walks her whippets, Eddie, in the foreground, and Cruise. Reep believes Eddie contracted valley fever near the Panorama Bluffs.

Cris Reep and her husband love to take their dog, Eddie, to the Panorama Bluffs every morning where he can run around and burn off some energy.

But last fall, Eddie's enthusiasm for running began to wane after he inhaled some of the fungal spores that cause valley fever.

For three months, Eddie, a whippet, barely moved and refused to eat almost anything.

"I really thought he was going to die," Reep said. "It was really, really awful."

Many pet owners aren't aware of it, but animals, particularly dogs, are susceptible to valley fever.

Researchers at the University of Arizona in Tucson are working to discover just how many dogs in that area have had the disease.

Preliminary data shows it may be as high as 25 percent, suggesting a vaccine would be beneficial to both humans and animals.

"It has a big canine market," said Dr. Lisa Shubitz, a veterinarian overseeing the study. She has met several owners who have lost their dogs to the disease.

"These people want a vaccine," she said.

The current cost of treating valley fever in dogs could make a vaccine worthwhile for pet owners.

Eddie recovered completely with the help of anti-fungal medicines and the love of his owners, who cooked him fresh chicken, gave him ice cream and force-fed him water through a syringe.

The total cost for both medicines and home remedies was more than $300, Reep said.

Shubitz had a similar experience with a much higher price tag.

She spent more than $5,000 bringing her own whippet, Arrow, back to health after the dog became ill from valley fever at only 8 months.

Valley fever in dogs often goes undetected largely because, in both dogs and humans, the immune system can fight it off without any noticeable symptoms.

But in cases where infection leads to illness, dogs can develop coughs, lose weight, limp and even die.

Going to the dogs

Dan Ocampo / The Californian Dr. Chris Butkiewicz, a veterinarian research specialist at the University of Arizona in Tucson, draws a blood sample from Jimmy, a terrier-German shepherd mix. His owner, Tim Wallace, in the background, fills out some paperwork at the Southwest Veterinary Specialty Center.

With funds raised in Kern County through the Rotary Club's Valley Fever Vaccine Project of the Americas, Arizona veterinarians are testing dogs for the disease and following some of them over a year's time.

Sometimes the test subjects aren't as cooperative as their owners about the testing.

Lizzy, a mixed breed "pound puppy," whimpered and squirmed as two people held her down on a table at the Southwest Veterinary Specialty Center in Tucson.

Dr. Chris Butkiewicz tried to draw blood from Lizzy's jugular vein but ended up taking a sample from the dog's front legs.

Of the 100 dogs being tracked in Tucson and Phoenix, eight have developed valley fever, but only two have become sick.

Rosco, a Rhodesian ridgeback, was among the unlucky ones.

The large, skinny dog developed a slight cough and joint inflammation in April, but after a couple of weeks on anti-fungal medication, his owner, Jim Glaze, noticed improvement.

Researchers hope to discover from owner surveys whether dogs living in certain areas or taking part in certain activities are more likely to become infected.

Previous studies have shown that purebred dogs -- particularly boxers, beagles, Scottish terriers and Australian shepherds -- have a higher risk of serious valley fever complications.

Dr. Kristy Utt, a veterinarian at Auburn Animal Hospital in Bakersfield, said she has seen an unusually high number of cases in Scottish terriers, boxers and vizslas, a breed of Hungarian hunting dog.

Unlike other veterinarians, Utt doubted there would be a strong market for a canine vaccine. People wouldn't know about it and most owners wouldn't want to take on the additional cost, she said.

Warm-blooded targets

Dan Ocampo / The Californian Dr. Lisa Shubitz, a veterinarian and an associate research scientist at the University of Arizona in Tucson, oversees a study that is tracking valley fever in dogs.

Besides people and dogs, valley fever has attacked numerous other animals -- cattle, horses, sheep, swine and burros, to name just a few. Cats rarely become ill from the disease, and some veterinarians believe that when they do, there is another underlying health problem.

Zoos in valley fever areas also sometimes find their animals infected.

Reid Park Zoo in Tucson has had primates and a sea lion come down with the disease. The latest infected animal was a 2-year-old polar bear named Boris.

Michael Flint, general curator at Reid Park, said the zoo had been involved in valley fever vaccine trials in the past and would be interested in a vaccine for animals.

Other zoos have seen their chinchillas, llamas and kangaroos also fall ill from valley fever.

In Bakersfield, valley fever caused serious problems for a mountain lion at the California Living Museum.

The lion, Whisker, was raised from a cub at the zoo, which only keeps animals native to the area that cannot be released back into the wild.

Whisker battled the disease for a year and a half, and also developed kidney failure before being euthanized in 1996 at the mature age of 14.

"Any warm-blooded animal can get it," Flint said.