About: Coccidioides immitis

Coccidioides immitis is a pathogenic fungus that resides in the soil in certain parts of the southwestern United States, northern Mexico, and a few other areas in the Western Hemisphere. It, along with its relative Coccidioides posadasii, can cause a disease called coccidioidomycosis (Valley Fever), and it is a rare cause of meningitis, mostly in immunocompromised persons. It has been declared a select agent by both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S.