VALLEY FEVER LURKS BENEATH THE SOIL SURFACE JUST WAITING TO BE DISTURBED

IMAGE_REPLACE_KEY_231_0_543792

Valley Fever lurks beneath the soil surface just waiting to be disturbed

Wind, dust storms, moving equipment, road repairs, digging, trenching and other similar operations cause the soil to move and release the Coccidioides fungus into the air.  This fungus can pose a serious health risk to anyone that breaths it in, resulting in Valley Fever.   While most common in California’s Central Valley, it presents in other parts of the state as well.

The symptoms of Valley Fever are similar to the flu.  Sometimes people develop symptoms and then recover on their own in a few days, while other times it may take weeks or months to recover which results in a lot of time off from work.  In some cases, the illness can progress to pneumonia and result in lung damage.   In the most severe cases, Valley Fever can progress to disseminated Valley Fever which is when the illness spreads to other organs besides just the lungs.

TAP Series offers Valley Fever Training to not only train your employees on Valley Fever but document employee training in your TAP account.  Course certificates can be reprinted anytime.  The self-paced course allows your employees to train on their schedule and is available in English and Spanish.  TAP’s system allows you to reenroll employees quickly for annual reviews or into new courses.