New data from the California Department of Public Health show that cases of valley fever are on the rise across the state. The airborne fungal disease is also the subject of a new public awareness campaign in Kern County, featuring sheriff Donny Youngblood. And just yesterday Cal-OSHA issued new fines for six companies who allegedly failed to take steps to prevent exposing their workers to the disease at a solar plant under construction in Monterey County.
To get an update on those developments, and Governor Brown's recent veto of a valley fever-related bill, we spoke with Harold Pierce of The Bakersfield Californian. Both Valley Public Radio and The Californian are members of the Center For Health Reporting Collaborative, which has produced the on-going reporting project on valley fever known as Just One Breath.
