California health officials are warning about a surge in a potentially deadly fungal infection.

The state is reporting 6,761 cases of valley fever , also known as coccidioidomycosis, through July this year. That means California is on pace to top last year’s record of 12,595 cases.

There were fewer than 1,000 cases logged in the year 2000. Valley fever now results in around 80 deaths and over 1,000 hospitalizations annually in California. 5

Shaun Yang , the director for molecular microbiology and pathogen genomics at the UCLA Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, blames the increase on the mild and wet winters that have become more common in California.

“This kind of very wet and dry pattern definitely is perfect for this fungus to grow,” Yang told SFGATE this we

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