I had it in the 80s, the first year I lived in Tucson. Coughed a lot for several weeks. When I worked in SW New Mexico, I did know a guy who got very sick from it and spent some time in the hospital.
If there are more cases being reported, it probably has to do with more people living in those areas. Maybe doctors now check for valley fever more routinely, too, I don’t know.
Cases of Valley Fever diagnosed in other states may very likely be due to the exposure to dust during outdoor recreation activities of ‘winter visitors.”