There has been documentation of a severe dust storm occurring in Bakersfield, California, an endemic area, blowing as far north as San Francisco where it is not normally found, and causing an epidemic in the Bay area. The life cycle of Coccidioides immitis is drawn at the beginning of our website. It demonstrates the two forms the fungus takes. In the histopathology section of this website, additional microscopic photographs show the spherule form in tissue. The tissue phase of the fungus Coccidioides immitis is a spherule.
Pigeons do carry cryptococcosis which also is a fungal disease.
The risk of contracting Valley Fever is no greater because you have asthma. You must inhale the spores from the fungus in order to become ill. The risk of contracting Valley Fever is no greater for a person with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than anyone else. Although blowing dust may carry the infectious spores of cocci anytime throughout the year, there are times which we call peak seasons for cocci. These vary with the seasons of the year and appear to be related to the amount of rainfall.