Health Highlights: Sept. 17, 2019

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Vaping-Linked Lung Illness Claims 7th Victim

A California man is the seventh person to die from a virulent lung infection brought on by using e-cigarettes.

This 40-year-old is the second to die in California and is added to other fatalities from Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Oregon, CNN reported.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, so far 380 people in 36 states have come down with the vaping-related lung sickness. On Monday, the agency activated an Emergency Operations Center to investigate these illnesses.

The latest victim had been sick for several weeks with the infection, Karen Haught, the Tulare County public health officer, said in a press release.

"The Tulare County Public Health Branch would like to warn all residents that any use of e-cigarettes poses a possible risk to the health of the lungs and can potentially cause severe lung injury that may even lead to death," Haught said. "Long-term effects of vaping on health are unknown. Anyone considering vaping should be aware of the serious potential risk associated with vaping."

Her words were echoed by health officials in Oregon, Minnesota and Kansas.

"It is time to stop vaping," Lee Norman, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said in a statement. "If you or a loved one is vaping, please stop. The recent deaths across our country, combined with hundreds of reported lung injury cases continue to intensify."

-----

No New U.S. Measles Cases Last Week

The measles outbreak that have spread throughout the United States may be winding down as no new cases were reported last week, health officials said Monday.

This, the worst measles epidemic in 27 years, saw the majority of cases in the New York's Orthodox Jewish communities, the Associated Press reported.

The disease was carried to the U.S. by travelers infected abroad and because measles is highly contagious it spread rapidly to those who weren't vaccinated.

Between spring and summer more than 1,200 cases were reported, according to the AP.

Measles outbreaks are usually said to be over after 42 days without a new infection.