Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy secretary of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies during a House Oversight and Reform Sub-Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, September 24, 2019 in Washington, DC.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — “Hundreds” of new cases of a vaping-related lung disease have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just in the past week, a top agency official told Congress on Tuesday.
The CDC last week said the mysterious lung disease has sickened 530 people so far. Kansas officials confirmed the state’s second vaping death on Monday, bringing the total number of fatalities in the U.S. to nine.
Officials are seeing “more and more cases” every day, CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Anne Schuchat told the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s panel on consumer products at an emergency hearing on the outbreak.
Health officials have linked the illness to vaping, though they are still trying to identify the exact cause. Most patients reported using THC, the compound in marijuana that produces a high. But many patients also used nicotine, the addictive chemical in cigarettes. Some used nicotine alone.
CNBC.com
