Jennifer R. Head
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View article: Oil and gas well development and coccidioidomycosis risk in California: A case-crossover study
Oil and gas well development and coccidioidomycosis risk in California: A case-crossover study Open
Background Coccidioidomycosis is an emerging fungal disease caused by inhaling Coccidioides spp. spores. As spores reside in the soil, activities that disturb soil may aerosolize and transport the pathogen, yet the types of activities faci…
View article: Valley Fever Is an Occupational Illness: Let's Get the Data to Prevent It
Valley Fever Is an Occupational Illness: Let's Get the Data to Prevent It Open
Valley fever is a fungal disease acquired through inhalation of spores of the fungus Coccidioides . Spores become airborne when soil is disturbed, making outdoor workers, such as agricultural or construction workers, at higher risk of expo…
View article: Updating the Epidemiology of Blastomycosis and Histoplasmosis in the United States, Using National Electronic Health Record Data, 2013–2023
Updating the Epidemiology of Blastomycosis and Histoplasmosis in the United States, Using National Electronic Health Record Data, 2013–2023 Open
Background Where surveillance data are limited, nationally representative electronic health records allow for geographic, temporal, and demographic characterization of the fungal diseases blastomycosis and histoplasmosis. Methods We identi…
View article: Assessment of Prior Infection With Histoplasmosis Using Skin Test and Serological Surveys: A Global Systematic Review
Assessment of Prior Infection With Histoplasmosis Using Skin Test and Serological Surveys: A Global Systematic Review Open
Background Evidence suggests geographic expansion in histoplasmosis, a fungal infection caused by Histoplasma spp. Establishing historical and modern population immunity to histoplasmosis is needed to contextualize future trends and ensure…
View article: Fungal Spore Seasons Advanced Across the US Over Two Decades of Climate Change
Fungal Spore Seasons Advanced Across the US Over Two Decades of Climate Change Open
Phenological shifts due to climate change have been extensively studied in plants and animals. Yet, the responses of fungal spores—organisms important to ecosystems and major airborne allergens—remain understudied. This knowledge gap limit…
View article: Updating the epidemiology of blastomycosis and histoplasmosis in the United States, using national electronic health record data, 2013 - 2023
Updating the epidemiology of blastomycosis and histoplasmosis in the United States, using national electronic health record data, 2013 - 2023 Open
Introduction Where surveillance data are limited, nationally-representative electronic health records allow for geographic, temporal, and demographic characterization of the fungal diseases blastomycosis and histoplasmosis. Methods We iden…
View article: Detection of Airborne <i>Coccidioides</i> Spores Using Lightweight Portable Air Samplers Affixed to Uncrewed Aircraft Systems in California’s Central Valley
Detection of Airborne <i>Coccidioides</i> Spores Using Lightweight Portable Air Samplers Affixed to Uncrewed Aircraft Systems in California’s Central Valley Open
Coccidioidomycosis is an emerging fungal infection caused by inhalation of Coccidioides spp. spores. While airborne dispersal is critical to Coccidioides transmission, limited recovery of the pathogen from air has hindered understanding of…
View article: Characterizing the Soil Microbial Community Associated with the Fungal Pathogen Coccidioides immitis
Characterizing the Soil Microbial Community Associated with the Fungal Pathogen Coccidioides immitis Open
Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal disease affecting humans and other mammals caused by environmental pathogens of the genus Coccidioides. Human exposure to the pathogen occurs via inhalation of spores aerosolized from soil. Thus, understandin…
View article: Recent and Forecasted Increases in Coccidioidomycosis Incidence Linked to Hydroclimatic Swings, California, USA
Recent and Forecasted Increases in Coccidioidomycosis Incidence Linked to Hydroclimatic Swings, California, USA Open
In 2023, California reported near-record high coccidioidomycosis cases after a dramatic transition from drought to heavy precipitation. Using an ensemble model, we forecasted 12,244 cases statewide during April 1, 2024-March 31, 2025, a 62…
View article: Estimating the Exposure–Response Relationship between Fine Mineral Dust Concentration and Coccidioidomycosis Incidence Using Speciated Particulate Matter Data: A Longitudinal Surveillance Study
Estimating the Exposure–Response Relationship between Fine Mineral Dust Concentration and Coccidioidomycosis Incidence Using Speciated Particulate Matter Data: A Longitudinal Surveillance Study Open
Lagged exposures to fine mineral dust were strongly associated with coccidioidomycosis incidence in the endemic regions of California from 2000 to 2017. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP13875.
View article: COVID-19 Incidence and Age Eligibility for Elementary School
COVID-19 Incidence and Age Eligibility for Elementary School Open
Importance Understanding the role of school attendance on transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among children is of importance for responding to future epidemics. Estimating discontinuities in outcomes by age of eligibility for school attendance has…
View article: Detection of airborne<i>Coccidioides</i>spores using lightweight portable air samplers affixed to uncrewed aircraft systems in California’s Central Valley
Detection of airborne<i>Coccidioides</i>spores using lightweight portable air samplers affixed to uncrewed aircraft systems in California’s Central Valley Open
Coccidioidomycosis is an emerging fungal infection caused by inhalation of Coccidioides spp. spores. While airborne dispersal is critical to Coccidioides transmission, limited recovery of the pathogen from air has hindered understanding of…
View article: Fungal spore seasons advanced across the US over two decades of climate change
Fungal spore seasons advanced across the US over two decades of climate change Open
Phenological shifts due to climate change have been extensively studied in plants and animals. Yet, the responses of fungal spores—crucial organisms that play important roles in ecosystems and act as airborne allergens—remain understudied.…
View article: Prolonged dry seasons lengthen coccidioidomycosis transmission seasons: implications for a changing California
Prolonged dry seasons lengthen coccidioidomycosis transmission seasons: implications for a changing California Open
Coccidioidomycosis, a fungal disease caused by soil-borne Coccidioides spp., exhibits pronounced seasonal transmission, with incidence in California typically peaking in the fall. However, the influence of climate on the timing and duratio…
View article: Characterizing the soil microbial community associated with the fungal pathogen<i>Coccidioides immitis</i>
Characterizing the soil microbial community associated with the fungal pathogen<i>Coccidioides immitis</i> Open
Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal disease affecting humans and other mammals, caused by environmental pathogens of the genus Coccidioides . Understanding the ecological factors that shape the distribution of Coccidioides in soils is important…
View article: Small mammals and their burrows shape the distribution of<i>Coccidioides</i>in soils: a long-term ecological experiment
Small mammals and their burrows shape the distribution of<i>Coccidioides</i>in soils: a long-term ecological experiment Open
Background For nearly all human fungal pathogens, the environmental constraints on their distributions remain poorly understood, hindering disease management. Here, we investigated the role of zoonotic host presence, soil conditions, and t…
View article: Recent and forecasted increases in coccidioidomycosis incidence in California linked to hydroclimatic swings
Recent and forecasted increases in coccidioidomycosis incidence in California linked to hydroclimatic swings Open
Coccidioidomycosis, or Valley fever, is an infectious disease caused by inhalation of Coccidioides spp., fungi found primarily in soils of the southwestern United States. Prior work showed that coccidioidomycosis cases in California sharpl…
View article: COVID-19 Vaccination and Incidence of Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Hospitalization
COVID-19 Vaccination and Incidence of Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Hospitalization Open
Importance A SARS-CoV-2 vaccine was approved for adolescents aged 12 to 15 years on May 10, 2021, with approval for younger age groups following thereafter. The population level impact of the pediatric COVID-19 vaccination program has not …
View article: Shifts in ophthalmic care utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US
Shifts in ophthalmic care utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US Open
Background Healthcare restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in ophthalmology, led to a differential underutilization of care. An analytic approach is needed to characterize pandemic health services usage across many condi…
View article: Prior water availability modifies the effect of heavy rainfall on dengue transmission: a time series analysis of passive surveillance data from southern China
Prior water availability modifies the effect of heavy rainfall on dengue transmission: a time series analysis of passive surveillance data from southern China Open
Introduction Given the rapid geographic spread of dengue and the growing frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events, it is imperative to understand the relationship between these phenomena in order to propose effective interventions.…
View article: Prior water availability modifies the effect of heavy rainfall on dengue transmission: a time series analysis of passive surveillance data from southern China
Prior water availability modifies the effect of heavy rainfall on dengue transmission: a time series analysis of passive surveillance data from southern China Open
Background Given the rapid geographic spread of dengue and the growing frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events, it is imperative to understand the relationship between these phenomena in order to propose effective interventions. H…
View article: Shifts in Care Utilization Patterns During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A High-Dimensional Study of Presentations for Ophthalmic Conditions in the US
Shifts in Care Utilization Patterns During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A High-Dimensional Study of Presentations for Ophthalmic Conditions in the US Open
Background: Healthcare restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in ophthalmology, resulted in a differential underutilization of care with potential long-term consequences. An analytic approach is needed to characterize pand…
View article: Association between wildfires and coccidioidomycosis incidence in California, 2000–2018: a synthetic control analysis
Association between wildfires and coccidioidomycosis incidence in California, 2000–2018: a synthetic control analysis Open
Background: The frequency and severity of wildfires in the Western United States have increased over recent decades, motivating hypotheses that wildfires contribute to the incidence of coccidioidomycosis, an emerging fungal disease in the …
View article: Coccidioides undetected in soils from agricultural land and uncorrelated with time or the greater soil fungal community on undeveloped land
Coccidioides undetected in soils from agricultural land and uncorrelated with time or the greater soil fungal community on undeveloped land Open
Coccidioidomycosis is a typically respiratory fungal disease that, in the United States, occurs primarily in Arizona and California. In California, most coccidioidomycosis cases occur in the San Joaquin Valley, a primarily agricultural reg…
View article: Effects of precipitation, heat, and drought on incidence and expansion of coccidioidomycosis in western USA: a longitudinal surveillance study
Effects of precipitation, heat, and drought on incidence and expansion of coccidioidomycosis in western USA: a longitudinal surveillance study Open
National Institutes of Health.