The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to release its updated national surveillance figures for Coccidioidomycosis — commonly known as valley fever — on Wednesday, lending federal weight to regional efforts already underway in Kern County, California, where public health officials have been actively recruiting volunteers to educate residents about the fungal disease.

The report, compiled from state health department data through late 2025, is anticipated to show continued case growth in endemic zones spanning California's San Joaquin Valley, southern Arizona, and parts of Nevada and New Mexico. Kern County, which recorded some of the highest per-capita infection rates in the nation last year, has been at the forefront of community education campaigns, and county health officials say federal visibility will help validate their outreach push.

Valley fever is caused by inhaling spores of the Coccidioides fungus, which thrives in arid soils disturbed by construction, agriculture, and dust storms. The disease is frequently misdiagnosed as bacterial pneumonia or flu, delaying treatment by weeks or months. Health advocates argue that awareness among primary care physicians — particularly in rural and agricultural communities — remains dangerously low despite years of advocacy.

"We've been saying for years that valley fever is underdiagnosed and underreported," said a Kern County public health spokesperson reached Tuesday. "A federal report that quantifies the true burden gives us a much stronger platform when we go to community meetings or talk to local clinics about updating their protocols."

The CDC data is also expected to flag climate-driven range expansion as a growing concern, with cases increasingly appearing in states not historically considered endemic, including Washington and Idaho. Public health researchers at UC Davis and the University of Arizona's Valley Fever Center for Excellence are expected to respond to the report with joint commentary calling for inclusion of valley fever testing in standard respiratory illness workups across the Southwest. Federal funding for a targeted awareness campaign is also expected to be discussed at HHS level in the coming weeks.