6 children dead so far in viral outbreak at N.J. healthcare facility – NJ.com

A severe viral outbreak has claimed the lives of six children at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Haskell, state health officials confirmed Tuesday, leading to an immediate order to shut down the facility to new patients.

The Department of Health reported 18 cases of adenovirus among pediatric residents at the long-term care center in northern New Jersey, which officials said included “very ill children,” some of whom were on ventilators and had trachea tubes.

“This is an ongoing outbreak investigation,” said department spokeswoman Nicole Kirgan in a statement. “A department team is at the facility today and an inspection team was also there Sunday. The team on Sunday found minor handwashing deficiencies and the Health Department is continuing to work closely with the facility on infection control issues.”

She said the facility will remain closed to new patients until “the outbreak ends and they are in full compliance.”

The department would not say specifically when the children died, only that the deaths occurred this month.

In its most recent health inspection report, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services gave the facility a “below average” rating. The 2017 report said the facility “failed to ensure infection control practices were followed.”

In one case, a nurse took a small tray with medications into a resident’s room and placed it on an over-bed table that had not been disinfected with a germicide wipe.

“After the medication was given to the resident, the tray was removed from the table and it was placed on top of the medication cart to use for another resident,” the report said, although it concluded the level of harm was “minimal.”

Overall, though, the facility — based on staffing levels and quality of resident care — was given an above-average rating and has not been fined by federal regulators for any deficiencies in the past three years, records show.

It is unclear exactly when the virus broke out. The Department of Health said it was notified of respiratory illness at the facility on Oct. 9. A letter dated Oct. 18 was sent to parents of patients alerting them to the outbreak. But officials earlier this week initially would not say whether any children had died, or the extent of the virus outbreak.

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There is growing concern over the response to a severe virus outbreak at a New Jersey pediatric healthcare facility. The outbreak of adenovirus has already killed six children.

While adenovirus is a typically mild illness that mimics flu- and cold-like symptoms, it can pose serious complications to some people, particularly those with weakened immune systems, officials said.

“Unfortunately, the particular strain of adenovirus (#7) in this outbreak is affecting medically fragile children with severely compromised immune systems,” said Kirgan. “The strain has been particularly associated with disease in communal living arrangements and can be more severe.”

Rowena Bautista, administrator for the Wanaque Center, said that the facility “promptly notified all appropriate government agencies when the virus was initially identified.”

In a statement, she added that the facility staff “have diligently implemented all available infection control and prevention measures in order to protect the health and safety of the Wanaque Center’s residents.”

The Wanaque Center is a 227-bed, for-profit facility that, according to its website, works with “with medically fragile children.” It also serves as an adult nursing home and rehabilitation center for short- and long-term care.

Gov. Phil Murphy, in a statement, said he had been briefed by Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal on the measures being taken by the state to contain the spread of the virus.

“I am heartbroken by the news that several children have lost their lives in an adenovirus outbreak at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, and pray for the full recovery of the other children impacted,” said the governor, who is in Israel.

Murphy said the state will continue its active on-site surveillance in Wanaque.

“I am confident that the steps being taken by state and local officials will minimize the impact to all those who remain at the facility, including patients and employees,” he said.

Meanwhile, state Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, who chairs the Senate Health Committee, said there needs to be a “very thorough investigation” of what happened and how it happened.

“It’s just awful,” he said. “My major question is how long did they wait until the department was notified. I don’t know what they did to mitigate the problem.”

He added there could be legislative hearings. “This could be a red flag and warning for other facilities,” he said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adenoviruses are typically spread from an infected person to others through close personal contact, such as touching or shaking hands,coughing and sneezing, and touching an object or surface with adenoviruses on it.

Health experts say it is uncommon for people to die from adenovirus.

“Adenovirus may cause more fever and more bronchitis like or wheezing than a rhinovirus cold, for instance, but most people do fine,” said Dr. David Cennimo, an assistant professor of medicine-pediatrics infectious disease at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. “In rare cases, this is fatal.”

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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