A prominent Valley Fever doctor referred to the disease as a “local secret.” When Sharon Filip contracted Valley Fever in 2001 there were no articles about this disease in the news, much less anyone speaking out loud or writing the words “Valley Fever” apart from obscure research groups. She never heard of this disease until her doctors discovered what she appeared to be dying from.
Many with Valley Fever said they believe it is kept a “local secret” because tourism would die in Valley Fever’s endemic regions and no one would move there, destroying the local economy. As the saying goes, “follow the money.” If people were given and understood the overwhelming evidence, who would deliberately put themselves or their own family in harm’s way where anyone could easily inhale a naturally occurring biohazard?
With David Filip’s dedicated research into peer reviewed medical journals, he saw the disease was far more severe than publicly acknowledged. This information gave the Filips an opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. This mother and son team acted on this urgent public need by creating Valley Fever Survivor as an all-volunteer organization in 2002. There was a serious public health need to warn about this easily contracted incurable disease because the general population was deliberately kept in the dark. VFS provided honest, factual, and reliable information to general audiences when no one else would.
The facts on this website were uncovered by David Filip’s research into thousands of medical documents and books on coccidioidomycosis. Few people beyond isolated pockets of unpublicized medical researchers even knew these facts existed until Filip unearthed the little-known research to share its shocking conclusions with the masses. He shared many of these important facts with media professionals but they were often not passed on in their articles and broadcasts due to editorial constraints or other reasons. This makes our books and Internet information essential to help spread all the information people need to know for their health. Everyone who comes to www.valleyfeversurvivor.com, joins the Valley Fever Survivor Support Group, reads Valley Fever Epidemic and learns from our other work can benefit from this vital information and spread the word to others.
At a time when word of the epidemic was kept silent nationwide, the Filips coined “Valley Fever Survivor” and made it the organization’s official name and later its federally registered trademark. People have learned that whenever they see or hear “Valley Fever Survivor” it represents the work of Sharon Filip and David Filip. Readers have come to know that Valley Fever Survivor gives them information they can rely upon. They have become known globally as Valley Fever experts who have been educating and warning the public worldwide about this deadly biohazard.