13 Cases Of Adenovirus Confirmed At South Jersey Facility

CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ - A total of 13 residents at the Voorhees Pediatric Facility have now tested positive for adenovirus, the Camden County Department of Health and Human Services announced on Monday.

All cases are Type 3, which is not the same strain that has killed 10 children in North Jersey. There are more than 49 types of adenovirus which commonly circulate in the late summer and early fall.

“The Camden County Health Department and the New Jersey Department of Health have been working with the facility to provide infection control recommendations and identify other possible cases,” Freeholder Carmen Rodriguez, liaison to the Camden County Department of Health and Human Services, said. “Two site visits have been conducted to date, and the county Communicable Disease Unit will continue to assist the Voorhees Pediatric facility and state as needed through this investigation.”

The pediatric patients in Voorhees do not have the severity of illnesses that was present among residents at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, where an outbreak of Type 7 has resulted in the deaths of 10 children. No deaths have occurred in Voorhees, and none of the patients are in critical condition.

At the request of the New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Shereef Elnahal, the Voorhees facility curtailed all admissions to the facility on Nov. 1 until further notice. The facility has the capacity to safely and swiftly separate sick, exposed and well individuals into separate areas.

Given the long incubation and shedding period for this virus, and its ability to survive in the environment, additional cases may be expected within the facility despite efforts to implement enhanced infection control practices.

Since there is a long incubation period, additional cases would not necessarily be the result of ongoing infection control problems. There is no cause for concern among the general public, or for otherwise healthy individuals, officials said.

Adenovirus is a respiratory virus which can cause mild or serious illness, though serious illness is less common. Symptoms may include common cold, sore throat, bronchitis, pneumonia, diarrhea, pink eye, fever, bladder inflammation or infection, inflammation of the stomach and intestines and neurological disease.

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