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by Dennis Romero
A 10th child has died following an adenovirus outbreak at a New Jersey pediatric rehabilitation facility, state health officials announced late Wednesday.
The dead, along with 17 children who have fallen ill, have been "associated" with the outbreak of adenovirus infections which normally causes only cold-or-flu-like symptoms. state Department of Health.
The deceased and the surviving patients were described in a statement as "medically fragile." The facility, the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Haskell, provides long-term pediatric care.
"The loss of these young lives is heartbreaking," New Jersey's health commissioner, Dr. Shereef Elnahal, said in a statement. "We are working closely with the facility to conduct respiratory surveillance and ensure all infection control protocols are always followed."
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is a state of the art for the treatment of respiratory disease. The facility has agreed not to accept new patients as the outbreak is investigated, the health department said.
The names of the dead have not been released.
State health experts believe the children were exposed between Sept. 26 and Oct. 29, but symptoms can appear as many days after exposure. The outbreak was reported to authorities Oct. 9, the state health department said.
New Jersey Health officials previously said Wanaque was cited in 2016 and 2017 for washing deficiencies, improper storage of syringes, failure to disinfect surfaces and other issues.
However, on Tuesday the department said in a statement that an unannounced inspection Oct. 21 found that "the facility had deficiencies that did not indicate substandard care was delivered."
Voorhees Pediatric Facility in Voorhees (Voorhees Pediatric Facility in Voorhees).
A team of infection control experts has been scheduled to visit the Wanaque Center in November "to conduct training and assessments of infection control procedures," the state health department stated.
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