BAKERSFIELD - The discussion on Valley Fever is coming into the national spotlight again. Top health officials are coming to Kern County in September for a symposium to talk about the disease, at the urging of Congressman Kevin McCarthy.
Local researchers hope this national attention will bring more research money to find a vaccine and possibly a cure.
"It's debilitating to thousands," said Dr. Royce Johnson, Chief of Infectious Disease at KMC and Valley Fever researcher.
But, outside our region Valley Fever is virtually unknown.
"This disease for most of the medical establishment on the east coast is a short paragraph in their internal medicine book," said Dr. Johnson.
Dr. Johnson said some doctors don't realize that in Kern County alone, thousands of cases of valley fever are reported year after year. Some are even fatal.
"It's wrecking people's lives," said Dr. Johnson.
But this fall, for the first time federal officials are making moves toward finding a cure. The nation's two top health officials, the Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Health, are coming to Kern County to discuss Valley Fever, all at the urging of Congressman Kevin McCarthy.
"I just felt there was more to get done and this was the time to push forward," said McCarthy.
Johnson said the symposium is promising.
"This is a problem that is in our grasp to solve if we devote the correct resources to it," said Dr. Johnson.
These are resources, right now Valley Fever research doctors say they don't have.
"There's a lot of promising research out there, but no one seems to be able to get funding," said Jessica Einstein, Director of Communications for the Valley Fever Americas Foundation.
Researchers think a dose of reality in September will spread a funding fever, so Valley Fever can be cured.
"It's just so not far away to get to the point where we do have a vaccine and right now it's silly to give up," said Einstein.
This event will be September 23rd and 24th.