Six N.J. children die after virus outbreak
HACKENSACK, N.J. — Six patients have died as the result of a severe outbreak of adenovirus at a long-term care facility for medically fragile children in New Jersey, the state Health Department said Tuesday. Twelve others are sick with the virus.
The Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation has been barred from admitting new patients until the outbreak ends, the department said.
Health Department investigators returned to the facility on Tuesday after a visit on Sunday, during which they found “minor hand-washing deficiencies.” The state was notified of respiratory illnesses at the center in the Haskell section of the borough on Oct. 9. The affected children were all under the age of 18, the Health Department said.
Nurses at the center, which came under new for-profit ownership in 2014, have reported to union leaders about staff shortages that “may lead to poor infection control practices that can put patient safety at risk,” said Debbie White, president of the Health Professionals and Allied Employees union local. The local represents 70 registered nurses at the center.
Staff members have urged the center’s administrators to provide enough protective gowns, gloves and masks “to protect patients from cross contamination ... which can reduce patients’ exposure to the virus,” White said in a statement.
Rowena Bautista, the center’s administrator, said “facility staff have diligently implemented all available infection control and prevention measures” to protect residents’ health and safety.
The deaths occurred in October, but specific dates were not released “for reasons of medical privacy,” said Donna Leusner, a Health Department spokeswoman.
“This is an ongoing outbreak investigation,” the department said.
Adenoviruses are common viruses that affect the lining of the airways, intestines, eyes or urinary tract and are responsible for some colds, coughs, sore throats, pinkeye and diarrhea. Usually the illnesses are mild, but for people with weakened immune systems they can be deadly.
“People with normal immune systems would not have illness as severe as these children,” said Dr. Shereef Elnahal, the state health commissioner.
The Wanaque center is licensed to care for 92 children and 135 adults, and can care for more than 60 children who depend on ventilators to breathe.
Its pediatric patients are severely disabled. Some live in comas. For most, the center is their permanent home; some will live there from birth through age 21, when they may move to another unit. Many will never walk or talk.
The children usually become residents because of neuromuscular and respiratory problems caused by genetic syndromes, accidents at birth or abuse they suffered. Some were shaken babies. Many families live far away, are incarcerated or are out of the picture for other reasons.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement on Tuesday that he was “heartbroken” by the news of the deaths and would “pray for the full recovery” of the other children.
After a briefing from the health commissioner, he said, “I’m 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.”
“This is an awful thing,” said state Sen. Joe Vitale, D-Middlesex. “How did six children die, 18 become infected? What happened? What went wrong? How can it be prevented?”
He said he was awaiting the outcome of the Health Department’s investigation to find out whether the problems were unique to this facility or systemic.
Assemblywoman Holly T. Schepisi, a Republican whose district includes Wanaque, said she was “shocked that it took several weeks for the public to become aware of an outbreak that resulted in multiple deaths of vulnerable children.”
Health Department inspectors cited the center last year for poor infection control in the handling of syringes that are used to give patients medication by mouth, and in failing to cover oxygen tubing for a ventilator while a patient was at dialysis, among other findings.
Outbreaks of adenovirus in health care settings can be very hard to contain once they get started, experts say. Three patients died at a drug treatment facility in New Jersey’s Cumberland County last year in an outbreak infecting 79 residents and staff, according to a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“It’s very easy for a caregiver to touch a patient, the virus gets on their hand, then they touch something else, and it will be there for a long period of time,” said Dr. Aryeh Baer, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Hackensack University Medical Center, part of Hackensack Meridian Health.
The virus is not easily removed by common disinfectants, and it can live for days on hard surfaces such as doorknobs or light switches.