By Steven Mayer, The Bakersfield Californian
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
Aug. 10--Shane Hoover attended the third annual Walk for Valley Fever because he doesn't want others to suffer with the disease like he has.
Aera Energy employee Christina Ramos walked at Saturday's event because she regularly participates in local nonprofit fundraisers with encouragement and support from her employer.
And three sisters were there because their father, the late Dr. Hans Einstein, was a pioneer in early valley fever research -- and they continue to support his vision.
"We are all in this together," Paula Einstein, one of Einstein's daughters, said of Bakersfield and its surrounding communities.
"The March of Dimes succeeded because of dimes," she said. "That's what we need here, a March of Dollars."
Saturday's event, held at the Kern County Museum'sPioneer Village, drew an estimated 200 walkers, many in teams. All proceeds were slated to go to the Valley Fever Americas Foundation to support research toward a vaccine, as well as a renewed focus on development of Nikkomycin Z, or NikZ for short, an antifungal treatment drug that has shown great promise in animal trials, but has not yet been tested in human trials.
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