Coccidioidomycosis among workers at an archeological site, northeastern Utah.
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.
Petersen
Lyle R
LR
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ft. Collins, Colorado, USA. LRPetersen@cdc.gov
Marshall
Stacie L
SL
Barton-Dickson
Christine
C
Hajjeh
Rana A
RA
Lindsley
Mark D
MD
Warnock
David W
DW
Panackal
Anil A
AA
Shaffer
Joseph B
JB
Haddad
Maryam B
MB
Fisher
Frederick S
FS
Dennis
David T
DT
Morgan
Juliette
J
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