Health Officials Continue Search For Answers In Respiratory Illness Outbreak

In recent weeks, there’s been a rash of “severe pulmonary disease” across the country, and public health officials want to know if it’s tied to vaping.

Robert F. Bukaty / Associated Press file

It’s just after sunrise at WellStar Medical Group Pulmonary Medicine in Marietta, and Dr. Hiren Patel is getting ready for another day of seeing patients.

Lately, he’s watching out for one kind in particular.

“We’ll get folks that come into the office with just shortness of breath, chest pain, just kinda random vague issues,” he said. “But then we notice that they have more difficulty breathing when they never had that before.”