11th child dies in an epidemic of adenovirus in New Jersey

(CNN) – An eleventh child has died and 23 more children have become ill as a result of an adenovirus outbreak in a New Jersey health facility, the state health department said Friday.

In addition to those who died, a total of 35 people became ill from this epidemic.

Children have weakened immune systems and other serious medical problems and many need help to breathe and function. They became ill at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Haskell, New Jersey.

An ongoing investigation revealed that not being able to separate patients from those who did not show symptoms – partly because of "facility limitations" – is one of the "main reasons for the severity of the epidemic, "said Dr. Shereef. Elnahal, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health, said Friday.

But after deaths and hospitalizations, the facility now has enough space to separate them.

"Until this week, it has not been possible to completely separate these patients," Elnahal said. "But now, because of the declining census in the institution, that's the case."

On Thursday, health officials asked for help to separate the sick, calling for volunteers from the New Jersey Medical Reserve Corps. The health department has asked the Wanaque facility to complete the process by Wednesday.

"The fact that we continue to see new cases confirmed at this point, despite all the efforts made to scrupulously respect the protocols, has clearly shown the limits of installation in terms of installation," Elnahal said. in a statement this week.

Citing "serious infection control issues raised during ongoing inspections," the health department also asked the Wanaque Institution to hire new staff with expertise in the field of disease control. infections, including a doctor specializing in infectious diseases.

State health officials prohibit any new admission to the institution and re-admission applications from former residents must be specifically approved.

More on the epidemic

Public health officials said the outbreak could only be declared once every four weeks without further case. Symptoms can appear two to 14 days after being exposed to the virus, the State Department of Health said.

Children affected by the epidemic became ill between September 26 and November 12, according to the health department. The number has increased from 18 cases, including six deaths, announced last month by the Department of Health.

A staff member was also affected by the epidemic but recovered.

The epidemic in Wanaque is due to type 7 adenovirus. This type is "most often associated with acute respiratory disease," according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

"This is an extremely serious strain of adenovirus that could not have occurred in a worse place," Elnahal said Friday.

Other types of adenovirus infections can cause flu-like symptoms, a pinkey and diarrhea.

Eight cases of adenovirus were also found in children in a second facility in New Jersey, Pediatric Voorhees. However, tests suggest that the culprit is an adenovirus type 3, a strain different from that of Wanaque.

Patients at Voorhees Institution became ill between October 20 and November 9. An earlier inspection of the state health department revealed no problem controlling the infection and had given no citation.

Health officials say that they are stepping up their efforts to strengthen the fight against infections in such establishments in the state. Last month, the health department announced plans to deploy a team of infection control experts this month at the University Hospital and four pediatric long-term care facilities, including Wanaque facilities. and Voorhees. infections.

"Epidemics in institutions are not always preventable, but in response to what we've seen in Wanaque, we are taking aggressive action to minimize the risk of occurrence among New Jersey's most vulnerable patients," Elnahal said. a statement.

Adenoviruses are often transmitted by touching a contaminated person or surface, or by air while coughing or sneezing. They are known to persist on soiled medical surfaces and instruments for long periods of time. They may not be eliminated by common disinfectants, but they rarely cause serious illness in healthy people. However, people with compromised immune systems have a higher risk of contracting a serious illness and may remain contagious long after recovery, according to the CDC.

Infections and deaths occur amid questions – former Wanaque Center employees, mothers of children who became ill in the facility and Elnahal himself – about to whether the standards of the institution are sufficiently high and whether other measures could have been taken to prevent this from happening.

Elnahal said in a statement that the results of a recent unannounced health inspection at the Wanaque center "raise questions as to whether these general standards of long-term care are optimal for this vulnerable child population." medically fragile ".

In last month's statements, the Wanaque center said it was collaborating with health experts to investigate the outbreak and that it "had immediately informed all the relevant government agencies when the virus had been identified. " According to health department spokeswoman Nicole Kirgan, the health authorities have Oct. 9, the facility informed parents 10 days later, Oct. 19.

The installation refused several requests for comments.

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