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21:10 GMT
WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (KUNA) -- The US health authorities have announced that the number of fatalities related to vaping or use of e-cigarette products across the US had surged to 60.
Sixty deaths have been confirmed in 27 states and the District of Columbia (as of January 14, 2020), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated on Thursday.
It noted the median age of deceased patients was 51 years and ranged from 15 through 75 years.
Moreover, a total of 2,668 hospitalized EVALI cases or deaths have been reported to CDC from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and two US territories (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands).
EVALI is the name given by the CDC to the dangerous, newly identified lung disease linked to vaping.
The name EVALI is an acronym that stands for e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury.
Furthermore, the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and state health authorities said they had made a progress in identifying substances of concern in EVALI, and in characterizing the outbreak.
They pointed out that Vitamin E acetate is strongly linked to the EVALI outbreak. Vitamin E acetate has been found in product samples tested by FDA and state laboratories and in patient lung fluid samples tested by CDC from geographically diverse states. (end)
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