India, May 10 -- An Indian tech professional has died in the United States after battling Valley Fever, a rare fungal infection that led to respiratory failure.

Chiranjeevi Kolla, 37, died on May 5 at Kaiser Permanente in Walnut Creek after a month-long battle with the illness, according to a GoFundMe page created to support his wife, Pavani Marella, and their five-year-old son, Vihan.

The fundraising page described Kolla as "the kind of person who never raised his voice, never cut a corner, and never made anyone feel small."

According to the page, Kolla initially developed what appeared to be ordinary flu-like symptoms in April.

"When it kept getting worse, he went to the emergency room. Doctors first diagnosed it as severe pneumonia...