McCarthy joins colleagues in supporting federal research of Valley Fever

U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), in his role as co-chairman of the Congressional Valley Fever Task Force, supports efforts by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to improve research around Valley Fever, a fungal infection caused by coccidioides organisms.

“[W]ith the number of Valley Fever cases continuing to increase in recent years, combined with several University of California, San Francisco researchers estimating the total lifetime burden of Valley Fever cases in 2017 to be just shy of $700 million, we offer our strong support for this concept to move forward with appropriate funding to establish Valley Fever collaborative research centers,” wrote Rep. McCarthy and five colleagues in a Sept. 15 letter sent to NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci.  

Among the members who joined Rep. McCarthy in signing the letter were task force co-chair U.S. Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) and U.S. Reps. Paul Cook (R-CA) and Ken Calvert (R-CA).

The Congressional Valley Fever Task Force represents some of the Valley Fever hotspots in the American Southwest, according to the lawmakers, who noted that the illness presents pneumonia-like symptoms similar to those of the novel coronavirus, which can result in misdiagnosis of both diseases and lead to improper treatment regimens. “This makes the Valley Fever concept even more timely and important,” they wrote.

The NIAID Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Council in June 2020 approved a fiscal year 2022 concept with $6 million in first-year funding for direct costs to establish collaborative, multidisciplinary research teams to conduct research toward the improved diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of coccidioidomycosis, according to their letter.

“While we understand a concept conveys NIH’s interest in a topic and reflects early planning stages for initiatives, we also recognize that NIAID is in the process of considering whether to advance this concept, as well as the amount of funding to be dedicated to such an initiative,” wrote Rep. McCarthy and his colleagues. “We offer our strong support for this concept to move forward with appropriate funding to establish Valley Fever collaborative research centers.” 

The bipartisan Finding Orphan-disease Remedies With Antifungal Research and Development (FORWARD) Act of 2019, H.R. 2858, which Reps. McCarthy and Schweikert introduced last May with U.S. Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), would direct the Food and Drug Administration to hold public workshops on Valley Fever drug and vaccine development and issue a guidance document to help the industry develop such treatments, among other provisions. The bill remains under consideration in the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee.