Doc: 2 boys killed in NJ outbreak were in "irreversible shock" when they arrived at the hospital

A doctor in New Jersey, who runs the pediatric emergency room where two boys from the seriously ill Wanaque Nursing and Rehabilitation Center were taken away, says the children were too sick to be saved when they arrived.

They are among the 10 children who died in an epidemic of adenovirus in the facility that also sickened more than 20 others.

Dr. Frank Briglia told NJ.com that the boys were "both in irreversible shock upon their arrival".

Briglia, who, according to NJ.com, has previously served as medical director of the care facility, was fired and opened a whistleblowing procedure against the previous owner. She also claims that medical records sent with the boys would have shown medical problems prior to their arrival.

"According to Wanaque's records, both showed signs of shock several days before being sent to the ER," Briglia told NJ.com.

Sick children became ill between September 26 and October 29, with health officials ordering the facility to stop admitting new patients until the end of the year. epidemic. The center did not reveal how many children are still sick or how many were taken to the hospital. Patients with compromised immune systems are more likely than the general public to suffer from complications of the virus.

The parents of the victims wondered whether it would have been possible to do more to prevent the death of their child or to stop the spread of the virus.

"Am I angry? I think what it is, I need to know the information, I like the facts, "said ABC 7 Kristine Poulus, whose 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, was suffering serious medical problems requiring a respiratory probe and a feeding tube. "I just want to know what happened. She's gone, I can not bring her back, she will not come back. "

Others questioned the chronology of events at the center, which includes information from health department officials on October 9 about a group of respiratory diseases.

Paula Costigan, whose 14-year-old son was sick as a result of the outbreak, told the news channel that she did not know it until a week later.

"He's really in trouble … it started to hit his right lung," Costigan told reporters.

In addition to housing pediatric patients, the 227-bed facility also serves as a retirement home for adults and as a rehabilitation center for short-term and long-term care.