PHOENIX — A new rapid test for Valley Fever developed in Phoenix is getting ready to go on the market and will be a game-changer for doctors in diagnosing the disease.
Valley Fever is a disease that anyone with lungs can get. It exists in our desert environment, in the top layers of our soil. When we breathe in the spores, it causes a fungal infection in the lungs.
Doctor Thomas Grys, a Professor and Co-Director of Microbiology at ASU, has been researching valley fever for 14 years.
"It has always been here, this is nothing new, but when we have more people living in this environment and when we have better awareness, we are finding a lot more cases of the disease," said Dr.
Thomas Grys, a Professor and Co-Director of Microbiology at Arizona State University.
This past year, we have seen about twelve thousand diagnosed cases of valley fever. Dr. Grys partnered with Mayo Clinic to develop a rapid test for diagnosing Valley Fever.
"What we have done is we've taken testing that we've done for many years, which is detecting the antibodies in the fungus, and we've shortened it to ten minutes," said Dr. Grys.
This means treatment can begin right away and shorten the risk of the disease spreading outside of the lungs.
The rapid test will be available for Valley doctors and hospitals to use starting in 2026.
