page_title: Coccidioidomycosis
section_title: Other animals
hierarchical_section_title: Coccidioidomycosis / Other animals
caption_attribution_description: English: From the PHIL description: "Located in Arizona, this Doberman Pinscher displayed the signs of wasting, lethargy, and disorientation due to a fungal infection known as coccidioidomycosis, which is caused by a fungus from the genus Coccidioides. Note the head-down posture, and trembling gait, as well as the dog’s loss of mass, so much so that its ribs and other skeletal elements were clearly visible."
context_page_description: In medicine, coccidioidomycosis, commonly known as cocci, Valley fever, as well as California fever, desert rheumatism, or San Joaquin Valley fever, is a mammalian fungal disease caused by Coccidioides immitis or Coccidioides posadasii. Coccidioidomycosis is endemic in certain parts of the United States in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and northern Mexico.
  C. immitis is a dimorphic saprophytic fungus that grows as a mycelium in the soil and produces a spherule form in the host organism. It resides in the soil in certain parts of the southwestern United States, most notably in California and Arizona. It is also commonly found in northern Mexico, and parts of Central and South America. C. immitis is dormant during long dry spells, then develops as a mold with long filaments that break off into airborne spores when it rains. The spores, known as arthroconidia, are swept into the air by disruption of the soil, such as during construction, farming, or an earthquake. Windstorms may also cause epidemics far from endemic areas.
context_section_description: An animal infected with Valley fever cannot transmit the disease to other animals. 
  In dogs, the most common symptom of coccidioidomycosis is a chronic cough, which can be dry or moist. Other symptoms include fever (in approximately 50% of cases), weight loss, anorexia, lethargy, and depression. The disease can disseminate throughout the dog's body, most commonly causing osteomyelitis (infection of the bone marrow), which leads to lameness. Dissemination can cause other symptoms, depending on which organs are infected. If the fungus infects the heart or pericardium, it can cause heart failure and death.
  In cats, symptoms may include skin lesions, fever, and loss of appetite, with skin lesions being the most common.
  Other species in which Valley fever has been found include livestock such as cattle and horses; llamas; marine mammals, including sea otters; zoo animals such as monkeys and apes, kangaroos, tigers, etc.; and wildlife native to the geographic area where the fungus is found, such as cougars, skunks, and javelinas.
caption: A dog suffering from Coccidioidomycosis
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