Tenth child dies in a viral outbreak in a plant in North Jersey that has sickened 27 children

Editor's note: Do you have a family member in the pediatric unit at the Wanaque Nursing and Rehabilitation Center or a child affected by the virus outbreak? NJ.com would like to hear from you. You can reach us at (732) 902-4559, or write to Susan Livio at [email protected], Spencer Kent at [email protected] or Ted Sherman at [email protected].

The 10th child died of a serious viral infection at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Haskell, the health ministry said Wednesday night.

There are 28 people – 27 children and one adult working in the facility – who were sick during the September 26th and October 29th epidemics.

They have been exposed to the adenovirus – a respiratory disease that causes symptoms similar to those of colds or flu, but can be much more harmful for medically frail people.

The 9th child dies in a virus outbreak in a health facility in N.J.

Children living in Wanaque all have a compromised immune system.

The Wanaque facility notified the state of the outbreak on October 9th.

The health department has set up a staff member of the Communicable Disease Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are taking part in the laboratory tests, Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal said in a statement.

The state is also consulting Medicare and Medicaid service centers, Elnahal said.

"The loss of these young lives is heartbreaking and our thoughts are with the affected families," Elnahal said. "We are working closely with the facility to conduct respiratory disease surveillance and to ensure that all infection control protocols are followed on an ongoing basis."

A state inspection released Tuesday revealed more than a dozen deficiencies in handwashing and infection control.

Susan K. Livio can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.