coccidioidomycosis

noun

coc·​cid·​i·​oi·​do·​my·​co·​sis (ˌ)käk-ˌsi-dē-ˌȯi-dō-(ˌ)mī-ˈkō-səs How to pronounce coccidioidomycosis (audio)
: a disease especially of humans and domestic animals that is caused by inhalation of spores from either of two fungi (Coccidioides immitis or C. posadasii) found in dry soils of the southwestern U.S., Mexico, and Central America and that may be asymptomatic or present as a mild to serious flu-like illness marked chiefly by fever, cough, sore throat, headache, fatigue, and pneumonia but sometimes becoming disseminated beyond the lungs especially to the skin, bones, joints, and meninges resulting in painful lesions, swollen joints, or meningitis

called also cocci, San Joaquin fever, San Joaquin valley fever, valley fever

Examples of coccidioidomycosis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The flooding caused by intensifying winter rainstorms in California is helping to spread a deadly fungal disease called coccidioidomycosis, or valley fever. Zoya Teirstein, WIRED, 17 Feb. 2024 In California, diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis (also called Valley fever) rose 800 percent between 2000 and 2018. Maryn McKenna, WIRED, 25 Aug. 2023 This probably was coccidioidomycosis. Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 2 Nov. 2022 If inhaled, the organisms could end up in the lungs and cause a pneumonia called, variously, coccidioidomycosis or desert rheumatism or Valley fever. Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 2 Nov. 2022 Blastomycosis was a much more serious disease than coccidioidomycosis, requiring significantly longer treatment. Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 2 Nov. 2022 Valley fever is a fungal infection, known by its scientific name, coccidioidomycosis. Stephanie Innes, The Arizona Republic, 29 Apr. 2022 The more severe version, disseminated coccidioidomycosis, affects 5-10% of infected people and can affect the skin, joints, heart and even the brain and spinal cord. Dr. Adela Wu, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2021 Valley fever, which is a fungal infection also known by its scientific name coccidioidomycosis, is not well-known outside of the American West. Stephanie Innes, The Arizona Republic, 29 Oct. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'coccidioidomycosis.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Coccidioides, genus of fungi (from coccidium) + mycosis

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of coccidioidomycosis was in 1937

Dictionary Entries Near coccidioidomycosis

Cite this Entry

“Coccidioidomycosis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coccidioidomycosis. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

coccidioidomycosis

noun
coc·​cid·​i·​oi·​do·​my·​co·​sis (ˌ)käk-ˌsid-ē-ˌȯid-ō-(ˌ)mī-ˈkō-səs How to pronounce coccidioidomycosis (audio)
variants also coccidiomycosis
plural coccidioidomycoses -ˌsēz How to pronounce coccidioidomycosis (audio)
: a disease of humans and domestic animals that is caused by inhalation of arthroconidia from either of two fungi of the genus Coccidioides (Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii) found in dry soils of the southwestern U.S., Mexico, and Central America and that may be asymptomatic or present as a mild to serious flu-like illness marked chiefly by fever, cough, sore throat, headache, fatigue, and pneumonia but sometimes becoming disseminated beyond the lungs especially to the skin, bones, joints, and meninges resulting in painful lesions, swollen joints, or meningitis
Early symptoms of the disease, which is clinically known as coccidioidomycosis, mimic the flu, with symptoms that include a cough, lethargy, and fever, most of those who become infected recover with little or no treatment and are subsequently immune. In about 2 percent to 3 percent of the cases, the disease spreads from the lungs and can attack the bones, liver, spleen, and skin.Jesse McKinley, The Boston Globe
Coccidioidomycosis is transmitted through inhalation of the sporelike arthroconidia, which is easily aerosolized when dry soil is disturbed. In Arizona, the peak incidence of disease occurs during the hot, dry summer months and again in October when a dry spell follows late-summer rains.William A. Kormos et al., The New England Journal of Medicine

called also cocci, San Joaquin fever, San Joaquin valley fever, valley fever

More from Merriam-Webster on coccidioidomycosis

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