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PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ – Another child at a Wanaque rehabilitation facility is sick after a viral outbreak was discovered there last month.
To date, 27 cases of the andenovirus have been confirmed in "medically fragile children" at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, the State Health Department announced Wednesday afternoon. A staff member at the facility, who has since recovered, also become ill as part of the outbreak.
Nine children who contracted the virus have died. All of them had "severely compromised immune systems," including respiratory problems, before the outbreak.
The most recent case of the virus was discovered Wednesday, officials said. The first person got sick with the virus Sept. 26.
Adenovirus has an incubation period of two days to two weeks. This later onset of illness is not unexpected due to the long incubation period.
State health officials were notified of the virus Oct. 9. The state began monitoring the situation Oct. 10.
Four weeks must pbad after the last onset of the virus before officials consider the outbreak. State staff will remain at the facility until the outbreak is over.
The facility will not admit new residents during the outbreak.
A report released by the New Jersey Department of Health Tuesday revealed lapses in a surprise inspection earlier this month. (See related: Report Details Lapses In Care At Wanque Facility Where 9 Kids Died)
Nurses and other personnel should not be allowed to do so.
Adenoviruses are typically a family of viruses that cause mild illness, especially in young children. But this particular strain of adenovirus (# 7) is affected medically fragile children with severely compromised immune systems.
Adenoviruses can cause mild to severe illness, though serious illness is less common. People with weakened immune systems, or other respiratory or cardiac diseases, are at higher risk of developing severe illness from an adenovirus infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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