The patient, who died in July, reportedly used a vaping product containing marijuana that was purchased at a dispensary in Oregon. Ann Thomas, MD, a public health physician at the Oregon Health Authority, declined to share additional information about the patient’s identity, but said the individual was “otherwise healthy and quickly became very ill,” according to NYT.
Dr. Thomas said the patient’s symptoms were consistent with the lung illness that has affected more than 200 people in 25 states. On Aug. 23, health officials confirmed the first death linked to the illnesses in an Illinois patient.
The CDC and FDA are working with state health officials to identify the cause of the illnesses. They discovered the same chemical — vitamin E acetate — in the samples of marijuana products provided by patients nationwide, reports The Washington Post. However, officials say it’s still too early to confirm this contaminant as the definitive source of the illnesses.
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