What happened at Lightning In A Bottle festival? 3 hospitalized after viral fungal outbreak

Three people have allegedly been hospitalized after a viral fungal outbreak at the Lightning In A Bottle festival which took place from May 22-27, 2024, as per reports by NME dated August 2, 2024. While authorities have reportedly identified a total of five patients with valley fever, only three have been hospitalized.

At the end of July, California health officials urged people who attended the Lightning In A Bottle festival to seek medicare care if they experienced fever or respiratory symptoms.

The 2024 Lightning In A Bottle festival took place in Buena Vista Lake, California with an attendance of more than 20,000 people. According to the California Health Department, the fungal outbreak is expected to infect about 7000 to 9000 people in California in 2024.

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"We prioritise the health and safety of all our patrons"— Lightning In A Bottle festival mentions in statement

According to the California Department of Public Health, cases of valley fever are prominently found in Arizona and California, specifically in Kern County where the Lightning In A Bottle festival takes place. The health department explained that the cause of the viral fungal outbreak is the Coccidioides fungus that grows in the soil and dirt of some areas that could potentially become fatal after one gets infected.

In a press release, the California Department of Public Health stated:

"Valley fever is not contagious, meaning it cannot spread from one person or animal to another. Past outbreaks of Valley fever have been associated with exposure to dust and dirt at outdoor events and jobsites where dirt was being disturbed in areas of California where Valley fever is common."

As per statistics mentioned on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website, on average, there are approximately 200 valley-fever-induced deaths every year.

As per DJMag, Lightning In A Bottle festival issued a statement wherein the organizers mentioned that the California Health Department has made them aware that 5400 cases of valley fever have already been confirmed which calls for a large increase due to wet weather in 2024.

The organizers also mentioned that the five cases discovered recently may have been linked to 2024's LIB festival and were found as a part of the health department's California Valley Fever Awareness Month campaign.

In their statement, organizers of the LIB festival mentioned:

"We prioritise the health and safety of all our patrons and are in communication with the California Department of Public Health and Kern County Public Health Department to learn more about valley fever and any preventative measures we can take to reduce valley fever risk for future festival events, and to make information available to this year’s attendees."

Apart from the health department and Lightning In A Bottle festival issuing statements, attendees of the festival also mentioned their experience with the viral fungal outbreak via Reddit.

As per accounts of the festival attendees mentioned on SFist on July 30, 2024, one of the attendees said that they were hospitalized with a severe lung infection, 18 days after they came home from the festival. The Reddit user, who goes by the username Beneficial_Heart7146, stated that symptoms include cough, body aches, and a low-grade fever in addition to which they mentioned being sick and fatigued for weeks despite getting treatment.

Another Reddit user said that the infection put them "through the ringer", mentioning it caused a lot of complications.

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In other news, despite some of the attendees experiencing the viral fungal outbreak after attending the Lightning In A Bottle festival, the presale tickets of the festival's 2025 event are already sold out.