To: President Donald Trump
Valley Fever Epidemic - The Best Kept Secret by the Federal Government, while millions are infect...
Broadcast the dangers of this endemic to the public, if traveling or relocating to the southwestern United States!
Federal Government research and fund the creation of a vaccine for humans through the National Institutes of Health!
Federal Government research and fund the creation of a vaccine for humans through the National Institutes of Health!
Why is this important?
During Thanksgiving 2010, my son visited Arizona to meet his future father-in-law. Unbeknownst to him, he inhaled the spores responsible for Valley Fever or Coccidioidomycosis on an All-Terrain Vehicle excursion. By January 2011, he had a persistent cough. By April, he was hospitalized for shortness of breath and tested for tuberculosis, then released when the test results came out negative. By May, he was taken to another hospital after suffering two strokes and for a ruptured boil. My son was 35 years old at the time. While he has mainly recovered, he lost his job and will be on medication for the rest of his life.
The fungus rests in the soil of certain areas of the Americas: southwestern US, northern Mexico and parts of Central & South America.The dangers of Valley Fever are not advertised to travelers to the Southeastern US or to those relocating to that area of the country. Currently, no cure nor vaccine for this disease exists. The fungus is currently listed by the CDC as a select agent or biological toxin. Certain portions of the population are more susceptible to this disease - Filipino, African, Native American, Latino & Asian peoples as well as men, pregnant women & people with weakened immune systems, and animals.
With this petition, we hope to have the dangers of this endemic broadcasted to the public, if traveling or relocating to the southwestern United States; and we want the Federal Government to research and fund the creation of a vaccine for humans through the National Institutes of Health.
The fungus rests in the soil of certain areas of the Americas: southwestern US, northern Mexico and parts of Central & South America.The dangers of Valley Fever are not advertised to travelers to the Southeastern US or to those relocating to that area of the country. Currently, no cure nor vaccine for this disease exists. The fungus is currently listed by the CDC as a select agent or biological toxin. Certain portions of the population are more susceptible to this disease - Filipino, African, Native American, Latino & Asian peoples as well as men, pregnant women & people with weakened immune systems, and animals.
With this petition, we hope to have the dangers of this endemic broadcasted to the public, if traveling or relocating to the southwestern United States; and we want the Federal Government to research and fund the creation of a vaccine for humans through the National Institutes of Health.