CNN: US is "looking into" why young people are getting coronavirus
From CNN Health's Jacqueline Howard
Source:
https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news...0-intl-hnk/h_2fe6383c4ac9154ea1e48cbeafe15a42
US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said the US is looking into why young people in the country are being diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.
"So far the demography definitely seems to be very different in the United States versus in other countries that saw this hit earlier," US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said on the "Today" show on Monday morning.
"And we're looking into that," Adams told NBC's Savannah Guthrie.
"
There are theories that it could be because we know we have a higher proportion of people in the United States and also in Italy who vape," Adams said. "We don't know if that's the only cause."
In New York state so far, more than half of coronavirus cases — 53% — have been among young people between the ages of 18 and 49, Gov. Andrew Cuomo noted on Sunday.
CNBC: Death toll rises from mysterious lung illnesses linked to vaping, prompting CDC to sound alarm on e-cigarettes
PUBLISHED FRI,
SEP 6 2019 1:08 PM EDTUPDATED FRI,
SEP 6 2019 4:04 PM EDT
Source:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/06/cdc...-in-vaping-related-lung-disease-outbreak.html
At least three people have died from a mysterious lung illness doctors believe may be caused by vaping — a rising public health worry that has U.S. and state officials perplexed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.
A new patient in Indiana died, in addition to the previously reported deaths in Illinois and Oregon, Ileana Arias, CDC’s acting deputy director of non-infectious diseases told reporters on a media call. Officials are investigating a fourth death, she said.
The CDC is urging people to avoid using e-cigarettes amid the outbreak.
“Until we have a cause and while this investigation is ongoing, we’re recommending individuals consider not using e-cigarettes,” said Dana Meaney-Delman, who is overseeing the CDC’s response. “As more information comes about and we can narrow down the specific e-cigarette products, we intend to revise that.”
Federal health officials are reviewing 450 possible cases linked to vaping across 33 states, including the 215 cases it has previously reported, Meaney-Delman said. It’s unclear what exactly is causing the disease, officials said Friday. Until they have more information, the CDC is urging consumers not to buy e-cigarette products off the street or add any substances that are not intended by the manufacturer, the agency said.
Many of the patients who became sick said they vaped THC, a marijuana compound that produces a high. Some reported using both THC and e-cigarettes while a smaller group reported using only nicotine, Meaney-Delman said.
New York officials on Thursday said they are narrowing their focus to vitamin E acetate. Federal officials on Friday said it’s too early to pinpoint one substance.
The FDA is analyzing more than 120 samples for the presence of a broad range of substances, including nicotine, THC, other cannabinoids, cutting agents, opioids, toxins and poisons, Mitch Zeller, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products, said on the call. Lab tests have shown a “mix of results,” and no one substance or compound, including vitamin E acetate, has shown up in all of the samples tested, he said.
Doctors published detailed reports of the cases they’ve treated in the New England Journal of Medicine on Friday in hopes of defining the illness and helping other doctors recognize it.
Patients in many cases experienced gradual symptoms, including breathing difficulty, shortness of breath and chest pain before being hospitalized. Some people reported vomiting and diarrhea or other symptoms such as fevers or fatigue.
X-ray images from the patients typically show shadows similar to the ones seen in patients with viral pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome, said Dr. Dixie Harris, a pulmonologist with Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, who has worked on 24 cases in Utah.
That led her to perform bronchoscopies on the first few patients. Doctors did not find any infections. Then they considered it might be related to vaping. All of Harris’ patients said they vaped. Some used nicotine. Some used cannabinoids, including THC or CBD. Others used both, making it even more difficult for doctors to pinpoint a culprit.
“My stance is overall, as a lung doctor, I don’t want anybody putting anything into their lungs,” she said. “But I do think there is something going on and there is one common thing making all these lungs react.”
