Disease & Vaccine A–Z

Diseases beginning with V

U.S.-focused summaries with current official guidance links. For a diagnosis, personal vaccine schedule, pregnancy advice, or urgent symptoms, speak with a qualified clinician.

Valley Fever

No vaccine available

Disease

A lung infection, also called coccidioidomycosis, caused by breathing fungal spores from soil in parts of the United States.

Symptoms

Many infections cause no illness. Symptoms can include fatigue, cough, fever, shortness of breath, headache, night sweats, muscle or joint aches, chest pain, and rash.

Typical duration

Symptoms usually begin 1 to 3 weeks after exposure. Mild illness may improve without medicine over weeks to a few months; fatigue, chronic lung disease, or disseminated disease can last much longer.

How serious is it?

A minority develop chronic lung problems or infection that spreads to skin, bones, joints, or the brain. Severe disease is more likely in certain immune, pregnancy, age, diabetes, and ancestry-related risk groups.

Treatment & management

Many mild infections resolve without antifungal medicine. Higher-risk, severe, chronic, or disseminated infections are treated with antifungals such as fluconazole; meningitis generally requires lifelong therapy.

Vaccine: who and when?

No vaccine is licensed to prevent Valley fever. Vaccine research is ongoing.

Check the current CDC guidance for Valley Fever →

Cost and access: Patient cost varies by insurance, provider, location, and eligibility. Many recommended vaccines are covered with no out-of-pocket cost under qualifying plans, and eligible children may receive vaccines through the Vaccines for Children program. CDC price lists are purchasing benchmarks—not guaranteed patient prices. CDC price and program context.

Last reviewed against official U.S. sources: September 5, 2026. This page provides general education, not medical advice.