The Texas Department of State Health Services has identified 25 Texas cases of severe lung disease in people who report vaping before developing symptoms. State health officials are gathering more information about 12 other possible cases to determine whether they are consistent with the symptoms and substance use seen in cases in Texas and 35 other states. About half of the Texas cases have been in teens, and more than half required hospitalization.
Respiratory symptoms include difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, and coughing. Some people have also experienced nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Clinicians should ask patients with these symptoms about a history of vaping, gather as much information as possible about suspected cases, and report them to DSHS.
Until DSHS knows more about the cause, people should consider not using e-cigarettes. If you do vape and experience symptoms like those reported, seek medical care promptly.
Nationally, 380 cases have been reported, and DSHS is working with the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and other states to gather evidence about what the cases have in common and determine a cause.
Regardless of the ongoing situation:
- Youth and young adults should not vape.
- Women who are pregnant should not vape.
- Adults who do not currently use tobacco products should not start vaping.
On Thursday the CDC announced the updated number of confirmed and probable cases of lung disease associated with e-cigarette product use, or vaping. The new case count is the first national aggregate based on the new CDC case definition developed and shared with states in late August.
Cases As of Sept. 11, 380 confirmed and probable cases of lung disease associated with e-cigarette product use, or vaping, were reported by 36 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The previous case count released by CDC was higher because it reported possible* cases that were still under investigation by states. The current number includes only confirmed** and probable*** cases reported by states to CDC after classification.
CDC is no longer reporting possible cases or cases under investigation and states have recently received the new CDC case definition to classify cases. The classification process requires medical record review and discussion with the treating healthcare providers. The current number is expected to increase as additional cases are classified.
CDC will continue to report confirmed and probable cases as one number because the two definitions are very similar and this is the most accurate way to understand the number of people affected.
*A possible case is one still under investigation at the state level. **A confirmed case is someone who recently used an e-cigarette product or vaped, developed a breathing illness, and for whom testing did not show an infection. Other common causes of illness have been ruled out as the primary cause. ***A probable case is someone who recently used an e-cigarette product or vaped, developed a breathing illness, and for whom some tests have been performed to rule out infection. Other common causes of illness have been ruled out as the primary cause.
Deaths Six total deaths have been confirmed in six states: California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, and Oregon.
What CDC is doing CDC is currently coordinating a multistate investigation. In conjunction with a task force from the Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists and affected states, interim outbreak surveillance case definitions, data collection tools, and a database to collect relevant patient data have been developed and released to states.
CDC continues to provide technical assistance to states, including working closely with affected states to characterize the exposures and the extent of the outbreak. CDC is providing assistance in epidemiology, disease surveillance, pathologic consultation, clinical guidance development, and communication.
CDC also continues to work closely with the FDA to collect information about recent e-cigarette product use, or vaping, among patients and to test the substances or chemicals within e-cigarette products used by case patients.
For information about the collection of e-cigarette products for possible testing by FDA, contact: FDAVapingSampleInquiries@fda.hhs.gov.
To communicate with CDC about this public health response, clinicians and health officials can contact: LungDiseaseOutbreak@cdc.gov.
For information on electronic cigarette products, or vaping, visit: www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/index.htm.
