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New case of vaping-related lung injury confirmed in King County

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File

KING COUNTY, Wash. — Another case of severe lung disease associated with vaping has been confirmed in King County on Friday, bringing the total number of cases to six confirmed and one probable since Sept. 20, officials with Public Health - Seattle and King County said.

A man in his 20s was hospitalized and is now recovering.

Health officials said details about the case and the man's product use are being investigated.

On Oct. 16, county health officials had announced three confirmed cases of severe lung disease associated with vaping and one probable case. That announcement came nearly a month after the first case that was confirmed on Sept. 20.

The four individuals who were admitted to King County hospitals went in with respiratory distress, officials said. Some had a fever, cough and abdominal pain.

Health officials said three patients have since been released and are recovering. Two of the patients are in their teens.

Specifics on what substances were used to vape with by two patients are still unknown, but one person reported vaping nicotine only, officials said.

A 23-year-old man from the Tacoma area died of a vape-related illness Oct. 30 at the Sky Lakes Medical Center in Klamath Falls, Oregon, according to his family.

They say Hadynn Outcalt-Arends had only been married for 19 days.

King County health officials reported numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which show 2,172 people across the nation have reported having been sickened by e-cigarette (vaping) product use-associated lung injury, including 42 deaths.