Is Valley Fever Contagious
No, unlike the flu, valley fever does not spread from person to person. In extremely rare cases you may be able to inhale spores from an open wound on a person with Valley fever. The majority of the time, the only way to acquire it is by outdoor airborne spores.
Diagnosing Valley Fever
Your healthcare professional might request some or all of the following tests to identify Valley fever:
- Blood tests: The most common method for identifying Valley fever is through blood tests. Your healthcare professional draws blood from a vein in your body and sends it to a lab where it is analyzed for specific coccidioides indicators (antibodies or antigens).
- Biopsy: To check for coccidioides, your doctor could extract a small sample of tissue and send it to a lab.
- Imaging: To check for Valley fever pneumonia, a potentially serious consequence, and your doctor may use a chest X-ray or CT scan. This will provide your healthcare professional images of your lungs so they can check for any abnormalities that might point to pneumonia.