Article on Valley Fever presented by Science Friday

Life cycle of Coccidioides spp. During the saprobic phase (left) the organism grows as mycelia, which mature into arthroconidia. These asexual conidia can be inhaled by a susceptible host. If this occurs, the fungus undergoes a morphological shift to form a spherule (right). The spherule structure matures to contain endospores, which can potentially disseminate to other body sites in the host including skin, bones, or central nervous system.

The mysterious desert dwellers: Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii, causative fungal agents of coccidioidomycosis Daniel R. Kollath, Karis J. Miller & Bridget M. Barker