Vaping: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduces the number of diseases related to vaping

The US government has specified how it measures the epidemic of respiratory disease in people who sweat, counting only the cases most closely related to the use of electronic cigarettes. Health officials said Thursday that 380 confirmed and probable cases have been reported in 36 states and one territory of the United States.

This marks a decrease from the 450 mentioned last week, when officials also included "possible" cases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state officials investigated an outbreak that occurred in the Midwest in July.

Doctors say diseases look like an inhalation injury, the body apparently reacting to a caustic substance that someone has breathed. Symptoms include shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain, diarrhea and vomiting.

Many teenagers and young adults, young and previously healthy, needed machines to help them breathe. Six dead have been reported in all adults and at least some with pre-existing lung problems or other conditions that may have made them more vulnerable.

Diseases are seen as a new phenomenon, and CDC officials have taken weeks to come up with a case definition and states to begin tracking it. Thursday's count of the CDC was the first based on the new case definition, which only counts respiratory diseases with abnormal chest x-rays, recent history of vaping and laboratory work performed to rule out infectious or infectious diseases. other possible causes.

No device, liquid or ingredient has been identified as the cause, and health officials advise people not to vape at all until more information is available.

States reporting e VAC-related lung diseases are: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota and North Carolina. , North Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia – plus the US Virgin Islands.

Some other states have announced that they are investigating possible vaping diseases, but have not yet indicated to the CDC that these diseases meet confirmed or probable case definitions, said CDC officials.

The deaths, previously reported, occurred in California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota and Oregon.