"Coccidioidomycosis or Valley Fever is an infectious disease in parts of the U.S.A. It is caused by inhaling microscopic arthroconidia (also known as arthrospores or spores) of the closely related fungal species Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii. Areas where Coccidioides is endemic (native and common) include states in the southwestern U.S.A. such as Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, and Utah and parts of Mexico, Central America and South America."