N.J. sends a specialized medical team after the death of 9 children in a facility

A team of infection prevention experts will visit a New Jersey rehabilitation facility where nine children have died from a virus, and will visit other similar facilities, the department announced on Monday. of state health.

They will also visit a public hospital where four premature babies have developed a different infection. One of the babies is dead.

They will strengthen basic infection control procedures. This is not necessarily an easy task, said Dr. Shereef Elnahal, State Health Commissioner.

"It really requires meticulous attention to detail and a culture of zero harm," Elnahal told NBC News.

"What this means is that you do not miss every step of the way to minimize the infection. This is not devious, but it can be difficult to follow. "

The state health department confirmed that nine children from the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Haskell had died of infections caused by the adenovirus – a virus that normally causes symptoms colds but can be fatal in frail patients.

"In total, 25 pediatric cases were associated with this outbreak. A staff member at the school – who has since recovered – has also fallen ill as a result of the outbreak, the health department said in a statement.

Children in the school have developmental disabilities or immune deficiencies that put them at particular risk. Several were ventilated and had tracheostomies, that is openings in the throat allowing the installation of breathing apparatus. These patients have a high risk of infection.

Staff treating such patients should follow specific procedures to protect their vulnerable charges, said the health department.

"The team will visit the University Hospital, the Haskell Wanaque Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, the Voorhees Pediatric Center in Voorhees and the Toms River and Mountainside Children's Specialty Hospital," the department said.

Hospital infections are a common problem in the United States.

"Every day, about one in 25 hospitalized patients have at least one healthcare-associated infection," says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

That accounted for more than 700,000 people infected in 2011, said the CDC.

The federal government has several programs to reduce the number of these infections and the CDC reports progress in the fight against some specifically targeted infections. This includes an 11% drop in infections associated with the use of central lines to infuse drugs between 2015 and 2016.

But epidemics of respiratory infections such as adenoviruses are not included in the federal government's efforts.

They are very common. "Unfortunately, the department sees more than 100 outbreaks a year similar to these," Elnahal said. "They tend to be respiratory epidemics. Most of them are flu epidemics but sometimes you can see epidemics or viruses like adenovirus. "

The adenovirus 7 is at the origin of the outbreak in New Jersey. There are dozens of different adenoviruses, and some are associated with more serious diseases than others.

"This strain of adenovirus 7 tends to affect facilities such as retirement homes, assisted living and even military barracks," said Elnahal.

He rarely kills. "But as the children are so fragile in this facility, we have seen the tragic results we have," Elnahal said.

The team of experts will train facility staff in Wanaque and elsewhere on patient safety. They will also visit the University Hospital, where an epidemic of bacterial infection, Acinetobacter baumannii, has killed one premature infant and infected three others.

It's a tedious job of controlling infections in the hospital, which requires repetitive cleansing and an emphasis on clean hands. Paperwork is an important part of it, as staff must document that it follows the procedures, said Linda Greene, past president of the Association of Infection Control Professionals (APIC).

"We know that hand hygiene is important," said Greene, a registered nurse and infection control specialist at the University of Rochester's hospital system.

The presence of a designated infection control officer on site also helps. This can sometimes go against the instinct to take special precautions, especially in long-term rehabilitation centers that look after children in need of human contact.

But in the event of an outbreak, it's important to make sure the caregivers do not spread the germs, Greene said.

"Even the most minor infections, with lack of infection control, can become a disaster," Greene said.

Maggie Fox

Maggie Fox is the senior editor of NBC News and TODAY, where she writes major news on health policy, science, medical treatments and diseases.

She has been editor-in-chief of health technology and technology at the National Journal and senior editor of health and science for Reuters in Washington, DC and London.

Maggie has won awards from the Society of Business Editors and Writers, the National Immunization Program, the Overseas Press Club, and other organizations. She has made scholarships at Harvard Medical School, the National Institutes of Health, and the University of Maryland.