Death toll hits 7 in outbreak at pediatric center

TRENTON, N.J.—Another young person has died in a viral outbreak at a pediatric rehabilitation center, bringing the death toll to seven, officials said Wednesday.

Most of those who died in the adenovirus outbreak were under 18, but at least one was a young adult, the state Health Department said. The seventh victim died Tuesday, officials said.

There have been 18 cases overall at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Haskell, about 30 miles northwest of New York, officials said. The 227-bed, for-profit facility cares for children and elderly residents.

“We’re taking this outbreak very, very seriously,” New Jersey Health Commissioner Dr. Shereef Elnahal said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I’ve been personally directing a lot of the work based on the information that we’re getting from the facility. … The outcome has been absolutely tragic—the age of the folks who died and their condition, and we’re working really hard until hopefully this resolves.”

Adenoviruses are common and typically cause mild cold or flu symptoms in otherwise healthy people, including sore throats, fever, coughs and sneezes. Some strains also cause diarrhea and or pinkeye.

But the strain found in the rehab center outbreak, adenovirus 7, is among the more potent types and can sometimes cause more serious respiratory illness, particularly in people with weak immune systems or who have lung conditions.

Children who require ventilators for breathing are among those treated at Wanaque. Elnahal described the patients as “fragile” and said they had “baseline” respiratory issues, as well.

It’s unlikely that there’s a broader threat, he said.

“We don’t see a major outbreak risk in the community,” he said. “Unfortunately, we have hundreds of these types of outbreaks per year. Because this one occurred in a place where the patients are so fragile and have underlying immune system problems, you’re seeing the severity play out.”