What’s Known and Not Known About the Mysterious Vaping Illness
More deaths, few clues, and a sense of emergency as e-cig use soars and the black market thrives
As the death toll from a respiratory illness tied to vaping reached eight last week and the number of total cases in the crisis climbed to 530 across 38 states, the mystery began to take on Hollywood qualities. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention activated its emergency operations center while scrambling to find a cause, or even just some clues, in a health crisis that has officials baffled. Unlike with salmonella or E. coli outbreaks, experts have no idea what substance is behind this public health nightmare.
“I wish we had more answers,” Anne Schuchat, the CDC’s principal deputy director, said in a press briefing. “We’re working closely with state and local health departments, FDA, and the clinical community to learn as much as we can to try to stop this outbreak.”
Here are some things that are known about the crisis, according to the CDC:
- More than half the illnesses involve people under the age of 25, and 16% are…
