Sex Differences in Susceptibility to Coccidioidomycosis

Ian McHardy; Krystle L Reagan; Jamie F Sebastian; Bridget Barker; Derek J Bays; Satya Dandekar; Stuart H Cohen; Kathleen E Jennings; Jane Sykes; George R Thompson 3rd

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofab543

Sex Differences in Susceptibility to Coccidioidomycosis

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2022 Feb 16;9(3):ofab543. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofab543. eCollection 2022 Mar.

Authors

Ian McHardy^{1

2

3}, Krystle L Reagan⁴, Jamie F Sebastian⁴, Bridget Barker⁵, Derek J Bays^{2

6}, Satya Dandekar^{2

3}, Stuart H Cohen^{2

3

6}, Kathleen E Jennings⁷, Jane Sykes^{2

5}, George R Thompson 3rd^{2

3

6}

Affiliations

¹ Scripps Medical Laboratory, Scripps Health, San Diego, California, USA.
² University of California Davis Center for Valley Fever, Sacramento, California, USA.
³ Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of California - Davis, Davis, California, USA.
⁴ School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California - Davis, Davis, California, USA.
⁵ Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.
⁶ Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California, USA.
⁷ Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary, Cotulla, Texas, USA.

Abstract

To assess sex-specific differences in coccidioidomycosis, a retrospective analysis of human patients, nonhuman primates, and veterinary patients (including the neutered status of the animal) was performed. We found higher rates of infection and severity in males. This observed increased infection risk suggests deeper biological underpinnings than solely occupational/exposure risks.

Keywords: coccidioidomycosis; gender; neutered; risk factor; sex; veterinary.