27 Kids Now Sickened In Viral Outbreak At Wanaque Facility

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — Another child at a Wanaque rehabilitation facility is sick after a viral outbreak was discovered there last month.

To date, 27 cases of the andenovirus have been confirmed in "medically fragile children" at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, the state Health Department announced Wednesday afternoon. A staff member at the facility, who has since recovered, also become ill as part of the outbreak.

Nine children who contracted the virus have died. All of them had "severely compromised immune systems," including respiratory problems, before the outbreak began.

The most recent case of the virus was discovered Wednesday, officials said. The first person got sick with the virus Sept. 26.

Adenovirus has an incubation period of two days to two weeks. This later onset of illness is not unexpected due to the virus' long incubation period.

State health officials were notified of the virus Oct. 9. The state began monitoring the situation Oct. 10.

Four weeks must pass after the last onset of the virus before officials consider the outbreak concluded. State personnel will remain at the facility until the outbreak is over.

The facility will not admit new residents during the outbreak.

A report released by the New Jersey Department of Health Tuesday revealed lapses in hand-washing and infection control during a surprise inspection earlier this month. (See related: Report Details Lapses In Care At Wanaque Facility Where 9 Kids Died)

Nurses and other personnel either did not wash their hands in between touching equipment attached to patients and themselves or other equipment, nor did some wash their hands for the required 20 seconds they should have after doing so.

Adenoviruses are typically a family of viruses that often cause mild illness, particularly in young children. But this particular strain of adenovirus (#7) is affecting medically fragile children with severely compromised immune systems.

Adenoviruses can cause mild to severe illness, though serious illness is less common. People with weakened immune systems, or existing respiratory or cardiac disease, are at higher risk of developing severe illness from an adenovirus infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

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