Mystery illness potentially linked to vaping sickens 11 in Indiana, nearly 100 nationally

Nearly 100 people, 11 of them in Indiana, have developed severe respiratory illnesses after vaping, and state and federal health officials aren't sure why.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tracked 94 cases of the lung sickness in 14 states since the end of June. Wisconsin has the largest cluster, with 30.

The Indiana State Department of Health has confirmed that six of the 11 cases it is investigating are linked to vaping, said agency spokeswoman Greta Sanderson in an email.

Vaping illness has wide range of symptoms, CDC says

Sanderson, like other public health officials, said there's no evidence that the illness is caused by a virus or bacteria that is spread from person to person.

Typically, patients report shortness of breath, cough, and fatigue, which worsen over the course of days or weeks to the point where they require hospitalization, according to the CDC.

Other symptoms include fever, chest pain, and gastrointestinal symptoms including weight loss, nausea and diarrhea.

Some of the patients grew so ill that they had to go on a ventilator to help with their breathing, but improved when treated with steroids, the CDC said in a bulletin to healthcare providers.

What they did have in common? All of the patients reported that they had vaped in the weeks or months before falling ill.

Many said they had used products containing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the chemical in marijuana that leads to a high.

Those sickened include teens and adults

Federal health officials first released information about the mystery vaping illness on Saturday.

They said that they were investigating a cluster of pulmonary, or lung, illnesses in Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, California and Minnesota linked to vaping.

The cases appeared to be similar and linked to the use of e-cigarettes, the CDC said in a press release, though they don't know if they are related to the devices or the substances in them.

Many of those affected nationally have been youth and young adults, though the majority of those who have fallen ill in Indiana have been adults, Sanderson said.

The state department of health is investigating cases in individuals as young as 16, up through the age of 65.

There have been no deaths and there is no particular region of the state where cases are concentrated, she added.

In Wisconsin, the 15 confirmed cases have occurred in individuals no older than 34, the CDC said.

They have asked providers should be on the lookout for additional cases and to ask patients who may have this syndrome to share any devices or liquids they may have used with state health officials to assist in the investigation.

Sanderson said that anyone with these symptoms who has vaped in the past 90 days should stop and see his or her healthcare provider immediately.

Contact IndyStar reporter Shari Rudavsky at 317-444-6354 or  shari.rudavsky@indystar.com. Follow her on  Facebook and on Twitter: @srudavsky.