The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that it activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to help with the investigation into cases of lung illness associated with e-cigarette product use, the organisation wrote in a media statement.

The CDC said that the new centre, which includes trained disease experts as well as additional CDC and EOC staff, will allow “the agency to provide increased operational support” in order to help meet the evolving challenges in the investigation.
In the statement, the agency also said that it is currently working closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to gather as much information from case patients about their e-cigarette product use to test the substances or chemicals found in the e-cigarette products they used.
While the investigation is ongoing, the CDC advised individuals who were concerned about the health risks associated with vaping to refrain from using the e-cigarette products.
“CDC has made it a priority to find out what is causing this outbreak of e-cigarette or vaping-related injuries and deaths,” said, CDC Director, Robert Redfield. “Activation of CDC’s Emergency Operations Center allows us to enhance operations and provide additional support to CDC staff working to protect our Nation from this serious health threat.”