State health officials are launching an investigation into e-cigarettes and vaping. They're looking for a possible link to a serious respiratory illness.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services launched its investigation after recording six cases of respiratory illnesses association with e-cigarettes and vaping over a two month period.
The patients range in age from 19 to 39.
Sarah Lyon-Callo is a state epidemiologist with the MDHHS.
“The severity of this illness in this outbreak is an emergency here in the state. And we are treating it as such.”
A specific brand of device or e-liquid that may be causing these illnesses has not been identified. There does not appear to be an infectious cause of the illnesses.
Nationwide, more than 200 cases of severe respiratory disease associated with e-cigarette use have been reported in 23 states…including one fatality.