Dear Dr. SerVaas: I lived in Tucson, Arizona, for many years. When I put my house up for sale, I cleaned under all my cacti--what a smell. My doctor told me that you can get Valley Fever from digging in the dirt.

When I came to Vermont, I was very ill and in the hospital for two weeks. I would like to know if there are any aftereffects. I know there are other names for this disease. Hope you can tell me all about it.

Elsie Tourville
Jericho, Vermont

Dear Reader: Valley Fever, primarily a lung disease, is caused by a fungus which grows in the soil of the southwestern United States. Spores of the fungus become airborne when the soil is disturbed by wind or digging and can be inhaled. Symptoms of the disease occur within three weeks of exposure and may include fatigue, cough, chest pain, fever, rash, headache, and joint pain.

Valley Fever is also called San Joaquin Valley Fever, desert fever, or desert rheumatism. Its medical name is coccidioidomycosis.

No specific treatment is required, and most people recover completely within six months. Lung nodules may develop in a small number of cases. Reinfection is rare, and the disease is not contagious. For more information, write the Valley Fever Center for Excellence, Mail Stop 1-111, 3601 S. 6th Ave., Tucson, AZ 85723.