The 10th child & # 39; medically fragile & # 39; dies of an epidemic of adenovirus in a health facility of the N.J.

The New Jersey Department of Health announced on Thursday that it was not planning to transfer the remaining patients from a medical facility for the severely disabled in which 10 children would have died from a viral outbreak. .

The "medically fragile" children are long-time residents of the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Haskell, New Jersey, where 27 patients are confirmed to have adenovirus, a typically benign respiratory illness that may have serious consequences for immunocompromised people. systems.

"Because these kids have such a compromised immune system at the beginning, transferring them to another facility would pose significant problems," a spokeswoman for the state's health department said in an email to the Washington Times Thursday. .

"We need to assess whether the benefits outweigh the risks, but that's not a recommendation we recommend at the moment. The center does not admit new residents for the duration of the epidemic, "said the spokeswoman.

Two other New Jersey facilities occupying "medically fragile" children also report cases of viral outbreaks.

One premature infant died and three others were infected with Acinetobacter baumannii bacterial infection at the Newark University Hospital, NBC News reported.

At the Voorhees Pediatric Center in southern New Jersey, an adenovirus was diagnosed in four children, NJ.com reported Wednesday. But this is not the same strain as that confirmed in Wanaque, which is the adenovirus-7.

The Department of Health announced Wednesday that it would send a team of infection control experts and epidemiologists to the scene to carry out training and evaluate procedures.

The Department of Health had previously documented a failure by Wanaque staff to good hand hygiene during an unannounced inspection visit on October 21st.

The confirmed adenovirus strain at the Wanaque facility is associated with common lifestyles and is known to cause serious diseases, especially acute respiratory illnesses, health officials said.

Patients treated at Wanaque and similar facilities require intensive care 24 hours a day. Many have tracheotomy or feeding tubes and are unable to walk or move on their own.

The virus is spread through close personal contact, such as touching or shaking hands, crossing the air while coughing or sneezing, touching an object or surface contaminated by the virus, and then touching it. mouth, nose or eyes before washing hands.

At least one staff member in Wanaque tested positive for the adenovirus strain circulating in the facility, but has since recovered.

The outbreak in Wanaque reportedly began on 26 September. The adenovirus has an incubation period of two to 14 days. The Ministry of Health said the virus was first reported on 9 October and the last confirmed case was on 29 October.

The death of the tenth child in the facility came a day after the health authorities released a report on a surprise inspection of the facility on October 21. The report reported many cases of staff failure to standard hand hygiene, especially when switching from one tube to the other. who carry faeces to feeding or breathing tubes.

"The department did not wait for the final results of the inspection to take steps to improve infection control at the Wanaque Center," said Dr. Shereef Elnahal, New Jersey Health Commissioner.

Dr. Elnahal added that the Department of Health had sent a member of the agency's Communicable Disease Unit to the facility and that the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were participating in the trials and expertise. in laboratory.

The last inspection of the Wanaque facilities took place in 2016.

No new patients will be admitted to the Wanaque Center until the epidemic is under control, which health officials will not have done to revoke the facility's operating license.

The Ministry of Health has not confirmed the number of pediatric patients currently in the facility, but said it has 92 pediatric beds and a 72-bed unit for ventilated children. Another area of ​​the facility includes a pediatric ward of 20 beds.