Chemical contaminant identified as 'key focus' of investigation into vaping illness

电子烟引发疾病的罪魁祸首-化学污染物

US officials are working to track down a chemical contaminant that is potentially behind a rash of lung illnesses connected to vaping.

美国官员正集中精力调查一种化学污染物，该污染物可能与电子烟引起的一系列肺部疾病相关。

The Washington Post reported that while the investigation was ongoing, some state investigators had identified a potential lead: oil derived from vitamin E. Vitamin E can be found in almonds and avocados, and the oil is commonly used in beauty products and nutritional supplements. But inhaling it could pose risks. It acts like a grease coating a vaper's lungs, Bryn Mawr College chemistry professor Michelle Francl told the Post.

《华盛顿邮报》报道，虽然调查仍在继续，但有些州的调查员已发现了一种潜在诱因：维生素E衍生的油。杏仁和牛油果都含有维生素E，而这种油经常被用于美容产品和营养补充剂中。但吸入这种油却可能带来风险。布尔茅尔学院的化学教授米歇尔·弗兰克（Michelle Francl）对《华盛顿邮报》说道，吸入这种油就好像是给吸烟者的肺部抹上了一层油脂。

The Washington Post reported that officials conducting an investigation at the Food and Drug Administration found vitamin E acetate in cannabis products used by those with the illness. The substance was also present in almost all the cannabis products used by sick patients in New York where 34 people have come down with the severe lung illness.

《华盛顿邮报》报道，在美国食品和药品管理局进行调查的官员发现，患者吸食的大麻产品中含有维生素E醋酸酯。在纽约吸食大麻的患者中，几乎也都发现了这一物质，其中34人已患上严重肺病。

电子烟引发疾病的罪魁祸首-化学污染物.png

Investigators were also looking into contaminants and bootleg vape products as potential culprits. On Thursday, New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said in a statement that vitamin E acetate became "a key focus" because it isn't an approved additive for medical marijuana vape samples and wasn't present in the nicotine products health authorities tested. The statement said vitamin E acetate was present in "very high levels" in "nearly all cannabis-containing samples" tested by the state.

调查人员认为污染物和盗版电子烟产品也可能是潜在诱因。周四，纽约州的卫生专员霍华德·扎克尔（Howard Zucker）在一份声明中说道：维生素E醋酸酯已成为“重点调查对象”，因为医用大麻电子烟样品成分中并未批准这一添加剂，且尼古丁产品卫生当局测试时也未曾检测出。这份声明还表示，维生素E醋酸酯在该州测试的“几乎所有的大麻样品”中“高剂量”存在。

But the investigation is far from over, and there are many other potential culprits out there. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a press release on September 6th saying that it is looking into a broad range of chemical contaminants since infectious disease has been ruled out. It clarified that no one substance — including vitamin E acetate — had been found in all of the 120 samples it has collected, and they were sent to the FDA for testing.

但调查远未结束，潜在的‘罪魁祸首’还有很多。疾控中心于9月6日发布的新闻稿中称，中心正在调查各种化学污染物，因为传染病诱因已被排除。并澄清表示，在收集的所有120份样品中，并未发现它们含有同一种物质——包括维生素E醋酸酯，现所有样品已被送往食品和药品管理局进行检验。

"Importantly, identifying any compounds present in the samples will be one piece of the puzzle but won't necessarily answer questions about causality, which makes our ongoing work critical," acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless said in the release.

“重要的是，识别样品中存在的化合物只是问题的一部分，不一定能回答这一系列事件因果关系的各项问题，所以我们的工作至关重要，”食品和药品管理局代理专员奈德·夏普莱斯（Ned Sharpless）在新闻稿中说道。

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