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Lindsey Bever
General appointment reporter national covering and breaking news
Seven children have died and others remain ill at a viral outbreak at a nursing home and rehabilitation center in New Jersey, health department officials said.
The New Jersey Health Department said Wednesday that the seven "medically fragile children" were among 18 confirmed cases of an adenovirus among pediatric patients at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Haskell, not far from the New York border. Experts say the outbreak of the outbreak of infectious diseases.
Adenoviruses are ubiquitous viruses that can cause a variety of conditions, from the common cold and conjunctivitis (pinkeye) to more severe bronchitis and pneumonia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A spokeswoman for the state's health department said that at least one of the patients who died was a toddler.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said in his statement that he was "heartbroken by the fact that many children have lost their lives in an adenovirus outbreak at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, and pray for the full recovery of the other children."
The governor added that the health commissioner, "who has assured me that the Department of Health has recommended vital measures to enhance protection against further spread of infection and will continue its active on-site surveillance. I am confident that the steps being taken by the state and local authorities will be reduced to the size of the facility, including patients and employees. "
[Virus starts like a cold but can turn into a killer]
The strain responsible for the outbreak in the long-term-care facility in New Jersey is adenovirus 7, known to cause pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses.
State health department officials said Wednesday in a statement that the strain "is associated with communal living arrangements and known to cause severe illness."
The state, with help from CDC, is investigating the outbreak. Health officials said in a statement that investigators have found "minor handwashing deficiencies" at the nursing home and rehabilitation center, which has 135 long-term-care beds and 92 pediatric beds, according to the health department. The department said it is working with the facility on "infection control issues."
Health officials said that they do not admit any new patients during the outbreak.
The Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation According to the center's website, it offers a long-term and long-term care, from physical and occupational therapies to hospice care, and has a pediatrics center for "medically fragile" children.
The New Jersey Health Department has confirmed 18 cases of adenovirus at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Haskell, N.J. (Julio Cortez / AP)
Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, said that by adulthood, most people in the United States have been sickened by an adenovirus and recovered on their own. In patients with compromised immune systems, however, the viruses can be deadly.
Adalja, an infectious-disease physician, said there is a nationwide problem with hospital-acquired infections – where he said, "infection control is not as rigorous" up to help prevent outbreaks.
"It's not surprising that this ferocious of a spread happened in a nursing home setting," he said, adding that "nursing homes are one of the weaker links in the chain of infection control."
Adalja noted that it does not know how to treat the disease in New Jersey, but it is considered "particularly severe" given the high number of fatalities.
There have been similar outbreaks in the past.
In 2006 and 2007, adenovirus 14 sickened at least 140 people across four states – New York, Oregon, Texas and Washington, according to CDC. Nine of them died, CDC said.
Adenoviruses have also been a problem in military training centers, where men and women are under extreme physical and emotional stress and live in close quarters. For that reason, Adalja said, a Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccine for certain strains is given to members of the military. But when outbreaks occur, he said, he prompted questions about whether vaccines should be available to the general public.
To prevent transmission, CDC recommends that people avoid contact with the eyes of the body, and to avoid touching the eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
There is no treatment for adenovirus, according to CDC, but the majority of cases clear up on their own.
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