title: Coccidioidomycosis among workers at an archeological site, northeastern Utah.
abstract: In 2001, an outbreak of acute respiratory disease occurred among persons working at a Native American archeological site at Dinosaur National Monument in northeastern Utah. Epidemiologic and environmental investigations were undertaken to determine the cause of the outbreak. A clinical case was defined by the presence of at least two of the following symptoms: self-reported fever, shortness of breath, or cough. Ten workers met the clinical case definition; 9 had serologic confirmation of coccidioidomycosis, and 8 were hospitalized. All 10 were present during sifting of dirt through screens on June 19; symptoms began 9-12 days later (median 10). Coccidioidomycosis also developed in a worker at the site in September 2001. A serosurvey among 40 other Dinosaur National Monument workers did not find serologic evidence of recent infection. This outbreak documents a new endemic focus of coccidioidomycosis, which extends northward its known geographic distribution in Utah by approximately 200 miles.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ft. Collins, Colorado, USA. LRPetersen@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Lyle R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.forename: Stacie L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barton-Dickson
authors.forename: Rana A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Hajjeh
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Lindsley
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Warnock
authors.forename: Anil A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Panackal
authors.forename: Joseph B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Shaffer
authors.forename: Maryam B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Haddad
authors.forename: Frederick S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: David T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Dennis
authors.forename: Juliette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morgan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001106:Archaeology; D003047:Coccidioidomycosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014589:Utah / Q000453:epidemiology