US vaping-related deaths rise to 47, cases of illness to 2,290

Fox News senior medical correspondent Dr. Marc Siegel discusses former President Jimmy Carter’s brain surgery and his recovery from cancer which spread to the brain as well as a vaping patient’s double lung transplant.

(Reuters) - U.S. health officials on Thursday reported 2,290 confirmed and probable cases and 5 more deaths from a mysterious respiratory illness tied to vaping, taking the total death toll to 47 so far this year.

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As of Nov. 20, these deaths have been confirmed in 25 states and the District of Columbia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

Last week, the agency reported 2,172 cases and 42 deaths from the illness.

Earlier this month, U.S. officials reported the discovery of vitamin E acetate — believed to be used as a cutting agent in illicit vaping products containing marijuana components — in all lung samples from 29 patients who were tested.

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CDC has called vitamin E acetate a “chemical of concern” and recommended that the substance not be added to e-cigarettes, or vaping products, while the investigation is ongoing.