Environmental Health Perspectives

Jan 21, 2025 | ehp.niehs.nih.gov | Silke Schmidt

An increasing incidence of fungal diseases is a lesser-known consequence of climate change.1 A case in point is Valley fever, caused by inhaling spores of the Coccidioides fungus, which grows in the soil.2 One pathogenic Coccidioides species is commonly found in Arizona and another in California’s San Joaquin Valley, Central Coast, and southern deserts.2 Valley fever cases in California have tripled since 2014,3 and the extent to which the fungus has spread to other parts of the United States...

Jan 13, 2025 | ehp.niehs.nih.gov | Justin V Remais

IntroductionCoccidioidomycosis is an emerging infectious disease with the highest burden of disease in the southwestern US. Recent decades have seen a more than 8-fold increase (2.4 to 18.8 cases/100,000 population) in age-adjusted incidence in California between 2000 and 2018.1 Infection occurs following the inhalation of the fungal arthroconidia (2–4μm)2 of the genus Coccidioides, including C. immitis, most prevalent in California, and C. posadasii, most prevalent in Arizona.3,4 C.

Jan 13, 2025 | ehp.niehs.nih.gov | Charles Schmidt

Campylobacter jejuni affects nearly 550 million people worldwide, many of them young children, with diarrheal illness; it is among the top four causes of diarrheal disease worldwide.1–3 This microbe naturally inhabits the intestines of wild birds, poultry, cattle, swine, and other animals.1 Human exposures typically occur when people ingest contaminated food or water,1 or work in settings such as poultry farms and slaughterhouses.4,5 Climatic factors are associated with changes in...

Nov 27, 2024 | ehp.niehs.nih.gov | Darios Getahun |Jun Wu

Introduction As the perinatal form of major depressive disorder, postpartum depression (PPD) is one of the most frequent childbirth complications.1 Postpartum depressive symptoms affect ∼10%–20% of new mothers worldwide.1–4 Mothers with PPD experience symptoms, such as feelings of anhedonia, worthlessness or guilt, depressed mood, insomnia, or hypersomnia, that can last for up to 1 y postpartum, and infants born to mothers with PPD are at a greater risk of developing behavioral and emotional...

Nov 21, 2024 | ehp.niehs.nih.gov | Kelley Christensen

Our planet may be experiencing its sixth known mass extinction event,1,2 with a precipitous loss of insects,3 birds,4 and other species.5 Unseen by our eyes, even Earth’s microbial biodiversity is decreasing.6,7 Yet human immune systems rely on microbial exposures to build up defenses.8,9 In a state-of-the-science review published recently in Environmental Health Perspectives,10 researchers assessed studies on the relationships between the inner and outer layers of microbial...