Black market cartridges containing THC could be to blame for a mystery respiratory illness linked to vaping, according to interviews of Illinois and Wisconsin patients sickened in an outbreak affecting hundreds across the country, public health officials said Friday.
While state and federal health officials stopped short of identifying one ingredient or product as the culprit for the illness that has sickened more than 800 people and killed at least 12, reports released Friday show that most patients interviewed by Illinois and Wisconsin health departments used prefilled, illicit THC cartridges, and specifically identified black market brand Dank Vapes.
Dank Vapes, according to the report, are vaping products prominent among a group of counterfeit brands that have common packaging and a logo, yet “no obvious centralized production or distribution.”
Of the 86 patients interviewed in Illinois and Wisconsin, 87% reported vaping THC. Nearly all of the patients used packaged, prefilled THC vaping products, and 89% were acquired “informally,” through friends, family members, from drug dealers or off the street. No patients reported adding their own ingredients, according to the report.
Public health officials said these patients used 234 unique e-cigarette devices, with labels from 87 different brands. Of those containing THC, 66% were sold under the name Dank Vapes. Other brands named in the report include TKO, Off White and Moon Rocks.
While Dr. Jennifer Layden, chief medical officer and state epidemiologist at the Illinois Department of Public Health, said the findings highlight the predominance of prepackaged THC vapes, officials still cannot pinpoint one product, brand, source or device that’s most common.
But Friday’s findings offered the first clues to what’s causing the outbreak that has vexed public health officials for weeks. However, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautioned they still aren’t sure what ingredient is to blame, and they continued to warn against all e-cigarette products.
It’s unclear if the products identified in the cases in Illinois and Wisconsin are linked to those elsewhere in the country, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, CDC principal deputy director.
“This is a key issue,” she said. “We do not know yet what exactly is making people sick.”
The CDC continues to investigate the illness, joined by the Food and Drug Administration, which also has launched its own criminal probe, focused on supply chains of products, rather than individual drug use.
Reports emerged in recent months of patients coming into hospitals struggling to breathe, some needing ventilators. All reported a history of either using e-cigarettes with nicotine, vaping products containing THC (the compound in marijuana that creates a high) or both. Symptoms of the illness includes chest pain, fever and gastrointestinal issues.
So far, the CDC has identified 805 of these cases in 46 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Twelve deaths have been confirmed by the CDC as of earlier this week, including one in Illinois, but reports Friday of more deaths by health officials in North Carolina and Oregon could increase that number.
Of those hospitalized, the CDC has sex and age data on 373 cases, showing nearly three-quarters are male and two-thirds are between 18 and 34 years old. Sixteen percent are younger than 18, officials said.
In a time when studies show skyrocketing rates of vaping among teens, word of the illness has sparked backlash against the industry, especially top e-cigarette producer Juul Labs, with calls for stricter federal oversight and regulations. Some states and cities have also called for bans of flavored e-cigarette pods, which are blamed for hooking young people. The Trump administration also said it would consider a ban on flavored vaping pods.
In response, Juul recently announced it will halt U.S. advertising and lobbying, and has replaced its CEO with an executive from parent company Altria, which also produces Marlboro cigarettes.