Coccidioides

American  

[kok-sid-ee-oi-deez] / kɒkˌsɪd iˈɔɪ diz /

noun

Mycology.

1. a genus of fungi, occurring as both mold and yeast, with species especially present in the soil of the southwestern United States and parts of Mexico, Central America, and South America: Breathing in their microscopic spores can cause coccidioidomycosis.

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Etymology

Origin of Coccidioides

First recorded in 1900–05; coccidi(um) ( def. ) + New Latin -oīdēs, from Greek -oeidēs -oid ( def. )

Example Sentences

Valley fever, or coccidioidomycosis, is a lung infection that people get when they breathe in spores of the fungus, coccidioides, that lives in dry soil, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

From Los Angeles Times

Bruhn said she hadn’t been warned beforehand that Kern County and Buena Vista Lake are endemic for coccidioides — the fungus that causes the disease.

From Los Angeles Times

Valley fever is an infectious disease caused by the coccidioides fungus, which grows in the soil and dirt in some areas of California.

From Los Angeles Times

English said little attention has yet been paid to his group’s discovery on the site of the soil-dwelling fungus Coccidioides, which causes valley fever.

From Los Angeles Times

After a heavy rain, the fast-growing Coccidioides spreads through the wet soil like mold through bread.

From Scientific American