6 children dead after outbreak of life-threatening virus strain at New Jersey health facility - UPDATE: death toll now at 11

RT
Wed, 24 Oct 2018 08:46 UTC

© Public Health Image Library

Adenovirus cells seen through an electron microscope

Six children have died and multiple others have been infected after a "severe outbreak" of a life-threatening adenovirus at a New Jersey health facility.

The children were infected with the virus at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Haskell, which houses a rehabilitation center, a nursing home for elderly people and a pediatrics unit.

Adenoviruses are the cause of everyday infections like the common cold, bronchitis, pink eye and respiratory tract infections, but the highly contagious viruses can be much more dangerous to people with already compromised immune systems.

The New Jersey Department of Health confirmed 18 cases of the virus on Tuesday, saying in a statement that the strain of the virus has been "particularly associated with disease in communal living facilities."

"The combination of a worse strain of adenovirus together with a fragile population has led to a more severe outbreak," the statement added.

The health facility has been told not to admit any new patients until the outbreak has ended. A inspection team sent to the facility on Sunday found some "minor" hand-washing deficiencies, which could have contributed to the outbreak.

While deaths are rare, adenoviruses are a relatively common strain of cold virus. Shortly before Christmas in 2016, an adenovirus infection laid up then 90-year-old British Queen Elizabeth II for over two weeks, and struck her husband, Prince Philip down with a hacking cough.

An outbreak of adenovirus also hospitalized six people in Michigan this August, sending two into intensive care.

Comment: Other notable outbreaks in the last year:

• Brain-eating amoeba found in Louisiana water system - Again (2018)
• More British tourists fall ill: 7 year old fights for life after food poisoning in Egypt, 8 guests at Italian wedding struck with mystery illness (2018)
• 'No need to panic': Mad cow disease found on farm in Aberdeenshire, Scotland
• Mad squirrel disease? Man dies from rare disease after eating fluffy rodent brains (2018)
• STD-riddled, invasive ladybirds infest British homes, threaten local population (2018)
• Rare flesh-eating STD discovered in Lancashire, UK (2018)
• Monkeypox diagnosed for the first time in the UK in naval officer visiting from Nigeria (2018)
• African swine fever outbreak in Eastern Europe has now spread to Western Europe (2018)
• Deer are dying from mysterious chronic wasting disease sparking concerns the infection could spread to humans (2018)
• Cat plague is back after nearly 40 years in hiding (2018)

For more on the possible causes, see:

• New Light on the Black Death: The Viral and Cosmic Connection
• New Light on the Black Death: The Cosmic Connection
• Lethal Sex -The Rise of Sexually Transmitted Diseases in the Age of Postmodernist Liberalism

And check out SOTT radio's: The Health & Wellness Show: Syphilitic Superpower: The rise of STDs

Update: The Daily Mail reports:

New Jersey officials announced on Friday that an 11th child has died and another 23 children have become stricken with adenovirus at a New Jersey center for severely disabled children.

State officials have been forced to admit they are struggling to contain the outbreak at Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, and Pediatric Center, in Haskell, New Jersey.

Dr. Shereef Elnahal, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health, told CNN on Friday that the inability to separate those who are sick from those without symptoms has led to the outbreak.

'Up until this week, it has not been possible to completely separate those patients,' Elnahal said.

Adenoviruses are a group of viruses that infect the linings of the eyes, lungs, intestines, urinary tract, and nervous system. A strong strain of the virus has killed 11 children

'But now, due to decreasing census at the facility, it is.'

The state put out a call for volunteers from New Jersey Medical Reserve Corps to help separate patients at the facility.

The lethal outbreak at the Wanaque Center began in late September, spreading among children with weakened immune systems.

An investigation of Wanaque indicated that the staff's poor hand washing practices might be fueling the viral spread.

The most recent outbreak at Voorhees Pediatric Facility, where five cases of a weaker strand of adenovirus have been reported, is also affecting immunocompromised children, and milder cases of the virus among the general public may be more common this season due to the warmer, wetter autumn.