October 22, 2024
E-cigarette or vaping product use–associated lung injury (EVALI) is a severe pulmonary illness associated with the use of e-cigarettes or vaping products. EVALI was first identified in late 2019 when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with state and local health departments investigated a nationwide outbreak of the disease. Reported cases had a high hospitalization rate and were primarily among adolescents and young adults. EVALI was primarily linked to the vitamin E acetate additive in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-containing vaping products. Cases of EVALI began to decline in early 2020, in part, due to rapid public health action to promote public awareness of the disease.
However, EVALI is still a public health concern for West Virginia considering the state’s high rate of e-cigarette and vaping use. The West Virginia Bureau for Public Health encourages healthcare providers to consider EVALI as a differential diagnosis when treating patients with severe pulmonary symptoms who report a history of vaping.
Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department
1500 Chapline Street, Room 106
Wheeling, WV 26003
(Get Directions)
Howard Gamble, MPH, LHA
Administration
(304) 234-3682
(304) 830-0420
[email protected]
Elizabeth Fowler, RN, BSN
Nursing Director
(304) 234-3682
[email protected]
Lock Johnson, RS
Chief Inspector-Environmental
(304) 234-3682
[email protected]
Savannah Lowe, MS, RD, LD
Nutrition Director
(304) 234-3888
[email protected]
Wayland Harris, EMT-P
Threat Preparedness Director
(304) 234-3682
[email protected]
William C Mercer, MD
Project HOPE Program
(304) 234-3682
[email protected]
Posted 11/07/24
Cases of Walking Pneumonia on the Rise in Children Respiratory infections caused by the bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniae have increased in the United States, especially in young children. Across the state Ohio Valley, including the greater Wheeling area, hospital emergency departments and urgent care centers are seeing an increase in visits for diagnosed pneumonia, particularly among children. The proportion of patients discharged from emergency departments/urgent care center with a diagnosi...
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