Ann Spatz, age 10, of Conway, Ark, for her question:

WHAT IS COCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS?

Can you believe that a rare disease found in patients of deserts areas of the United States can have such a complicated name as: coccidioidomycosis? People exposed to a certain fungus can catch the disease.

The fungus is breathed into the lungs from there it spreads through the blood to the skin, central nervous system and other organs.

The severity of coccidioidomycosis depends mainly on the degree of exposure. The symptoms resemble those of influenza.

The disease, which is sometimes called San Joaquin Valley fever, desert fever and valley fever, can strike people living in the desert areas of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and Nevada. It usually starts when victims breathe in contaminated dust.