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A new outbreak of adenovirus that sickened four children has been identified at Voorhees Pediatric Facility in South Jersey, state health officials said on Wednesday.
The viral outbreak follows the death of nine pediatric patients at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, where a new case of the infection was reported Wednesday as well.
The state Department of Health said it is awaiting additional laboratory test results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding cases at Voorhees Pediatric Facility in Camden. But, officials said preliminary test results have ruled out Type 7, which caused the severe outbreak at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation that left many critically ill.
“The pediatric patients in Voorhees do not have the severity of illnesses we’re seeing among residents at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation,” Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal said. “While we cannot release private medical information, these patients in Voorhees are not in critical condition.”
Officials said the children at the facility became sick between Oct. 20 and 27.
The facility could not be immediately reached by email or phone Wednesday late afternoon. But the health department said Vorhees last week sent out a general notification to all families with children there about the Wanaque Center outbreak. And another letter was sent out on Wednesday to notify families of the outbreak at Voorhees, along with the prevention measures being taken.
Meanwhile, two inspectors with the health department’s Division of Health Facility Survey and Field Operations were at Vorhees on Tuesday. Officials said preliminary findings “revealed no infection control issues, and no citations were issued.”
Adenovirus is typically a mild illness that mimics flu- and cold-like symptoms, but can pose serious complications to some people, particularly those with weakened immune systems.
In Wanaque, the nine who died, as well as the others who remain sick, were pediatric patients who ranged in age from toddlers to teenagers. Many of them were on ventilators with compromised immune systems — some with developmental disabilities or serious health challenges — officials said.
Laboratory tests, meanwhile, confirmed adenovirus in another child the Wanaque Center, state officials said. To date, a total of 27 confirmed pediatric cases have been associated with the outbreak there. In addition, a staff member at the facility — who has since recovered — also became ill.
It marked the first new diagnosis of adenovirus at Wanaque Center since Oct. 22. A health department spokeswoman said the incubation period of adenovirus is 2-14 days, from exposure to symptom onset.
“Given the long incubation period, additional illness onsets beyond Oct. 22 were not unexpected,” said Dawn Thomas.
At the Voorhees Pediatric Facility, the health commissioner said his department, with the Camden County Health Department, is working with the healthcare staff “to provide infection control recommendations” and identify other possible illnesses.
“With any report of an outbreak of respiratory illness in a facility, public health officials collect data to confirm and characterize it as an outbreak,” Elnahal said. “State and local public health officials have been working closely with Voorhees on this adenovirus outbreak.”
The state is planning to send teams of infection-control officials to inspect five pediatric healthcare facilities across New Jersey next month, in the aftermath of the viral outbreak at Wanaque, and the death of a child from a bacterial infection at University Hospital in Newark.
Spencer Kent may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Ted Sherman may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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