Amid impeachment threats and fears of a government shutdown, a little-known disease got major attention on Capitol Hill this week: Valley fever.

“Valley fever has a big effect in my home district, and back in the day, it was just Arizona and Kern County that were the most affected. A lot of people didn't know about it — even doctors didn't know about it,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said in an interview with Spectrum News. “They misdiagnosed it, but we've had people dying from it. We've had so many I know from our families, and it affects your animals as well.”

What You Need To Know

  • Valley fever, a little-known disease native to the desert southwest, got major attention on Capitol Hill this week

  • House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Rep. David Schweikert launched the Valley Fever Task Force 10 years ago to bring awareness to the disease

  • Valley fever is an infection caused by a fungus found in the soil that spreads when dust is kicked up; it can be found in both humans and animals

Valley fever, according to the CDC, is an infection caused by the fungus Coccidioides, found in the soil in the southwestern United States, as well as parts of Mexico and Central and South America. People contract the disease from breathing in the microscopic spores through the air, and while most people don’t face severe illness, those 60 and older or with weakened immune systems are at a higher risk. It can also impact animals.

Ten years ago, McCarthy and Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., launched the Valley Fever Task Force on Capitol Hill to bring more awareness to the illness, reduce risk of diagnoses, and develop viable cures for the illness. The pair meet with fellow lawmakers, patients, advocates, researchers, and other stakeholders to continue the momentum in hopes of finding a vaccine.

Last year, McCarthy’s Finding Orphan-disease Remedies With Antifungal Research and Development, also known as the FORWARD Act, passed committee, but never got a vote. But McCarthy remains hopeful.

“We've got companies in here showing that we're about a year away from a vaccine being able to be approved and then in humans themselves,” McCarthy said. “I'm very excited about the progress we've made and the direction we're moving in.”

Schweikert echoed his optimism.

“You get very few times in your life here in Congress where you walk out of the meeting and say, forgive my language, ‘dammit, it worked,’” said Schweikert. “Good things are happening. We jumped 10 years ago trying to put this together If we did something very sort of optimistic, and here we are. And it turns out, we're on the right side of history.”

Cases of Valley Fever have been on the rise in recent years. In California, cases spiked to over 9,000 in 2019. In 2021, the most recent data published by California, over 8,000 were reported. In Arizona in 2021, over 11,000 cases were reported. 

There reality is there still no vaccine for humans or animals. Schweikert says part of the delay is simple: cost.

“It's expensive running a phase one and phase two trial on humans. We're going to have all this canine data that has been amazing,” he said. “What we're hoping is you'll actually see the animal vaccine, maybe even moving by the very end of this year. So that's soon and being someone who lost one of his puppies to valley fever. And that's a big deal for us who are dog lovers.”

“That data is will flow into starting to do phase one human [trial], but that's expensive,” Schweikert added. “So there's going to be all sorts of things - there's working with everything from FDA, CDC, to raising money.”

Earlier this year, Sens. Kirsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., wrote a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, encouraging USDA to provide “all due consideration” to the Valley Fever vaccine for animals. Arizona's House delegation, including Reps. Schweikert, Juan Ciscomani, Raul Grijalva, and Greg Stanton followed up with their own. So far, there’s been no movement.