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5 New Cases Of Vaping-Related Illnesses In Mass. Reported To CDC

State health officials reported five new cases of vaping-related lung injury to the Centers for Disease Control on Monday, doubling the total number of case reported to the federal agency from Massachusetts as Gov. Charlie Baker's administration works to respond to the danger.

Baker last week declared a public health emergency and banned the sale of all vaping products for four months. The actions came on the heels of Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel mandating that Massachusetts health providers report any unexplained vaping-associated lung injury.

Of the 83 suspected cases reported to DPH, 51 are still being investigated, and 22 did not meet the CDC definition. Nationwide, 805 confirmed and probably cases of vaping-related lung injury had been reported to the CDC.

Two of the five new cases reported to the CDC have been confirmed by DPH and three are probable. Unlike the national trend that has seen two-third of vaping-related lung injury cases occurring in men, seven of the 10 cases reported by Massachusetts have been diagnosed in women.

Eighty percent of the Massachusetts cases reported to the CDC have also resulted in patient hospitalization.

While health officials are still trying to pinpoint the cause of the pulmonary injury, DPH reported that vaping of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, was reported in five of the 10 cases, while vaping THC and nicotine was reported in 40 percent of the cases. Only one patient reported vaping only nicotine.

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