… Valley fever is endemic to southern Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of Central and South America, but nowhere are cases of the disease more common than in Arizona. … [R]esearchers across the West who study the fungus think another factor may be driving the trend: supersoaker winter monsoons followed by scorching summer heat and drought, a cycle made more intense by climate change. … “The main driver for us is certainly this very clear association for coccidioides between heavy precipitation cycles followed by drought,” said George Thompson, a professor of medicine at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine who specializes in fungal diseases. 

Other Valley fever news:

• UC Davis Health: People and dogs caught in same fight against Valley fever
• KTVU (Oakland, Calif.): It can affect people and dogs, Valley fever is on the rise in the Bay Area