CDC states that more than two dozen died of vaping disease when the outbreak spread
A smoker is engulfed by vapors while smoking an electronic vaping machine.
Tolga Akmen | AFP | Getty Images
A deadly lung disease related to gunfire has taken more than two dozen people across 21 states while U.S. health authorities struggle to identify a precise cause of the outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. [19659002] The number of fatalities jumped from 18 last week to 26 with 21[ads1]9 new cases diagnosed during the past week, the CDC said, using data that is fulfilled through Tuesday. The agency said the total number of probable cases is now 1,299. Patients have been found in 49 states, up from 48 last week, as well as Washington, D.C. and the Virgin Islands, according to the CDC.
Health officials still do not know what makes people sick. Of the cases where doctors know what patients were using, about 76 percent said they were using THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, while 13 percent said they were using nicotine alone, according to the CDC.
The disease affects most men and 80% of patients are under 35, said the CDC. The median age of patients who have died is 49, from 17 to 75 years old.
Dr. Last week Anne Schuchat, CDC's Principal Deputy Director, called the illnesses a "very concerning outbreak" with no signs of slowing down.
"We have not seen a measurable drop in the incidence of new cases," she said at the time. "The data we have seen does not indicate that they have reached a peak and does not indicate that this is dropping."
The CDC has sent more than 100 doctors and investigators since the pulmonary disease began to appear as a public health threat in July. The doctors initially said the disease was similar to a rare form of pneumonia, caused by oil in the lungs, but new research casts doubt on that theory.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic published a study that said a mixture of "toxic chemical fumes," not oils, may be what makes patients sick. They examined lung biopsies from 17 patients suspected of having the mysterious disease.
E-cigarettes are generally believed to be less harmful than traditional cigarettes. However, public health officials say the long-term health risk is unknown.
The CDC recommends that consumers stop disappearing, especially THC and especially everything purchased outside the street.
See: Upcoming FDA policy update could remove Juul products, says expert
