Two more children at the Wanaque (N.J.) Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation were diagnosed with adenovirus over the weekend of Nov. 11-12, according to northjersey.com.
Here are five things to know:
1. These two confirmed pediatric adenovirus cases at the Wanaque Center bring the total number of cases up to 33. Ten medically fragile children at the facility have died since the outbreak began in September.
2. The new cases have caused concern over an 18-year-old who is in recovery at a different hospital but is scheduled to return to the center. This patient was born with cerebral palsy and has stayed at the hospital for six years. Due to a cardiac arrest, she is now in a vegetative state.
3. When the mother visited her daughter on Nov. 5, a yellowish liquid dripped out of her daughter's mouth. The next day she called the Wanaque Center to be told her daughter had developed a 99.6-degree temperature. The mother thought her daughter might have developed adenovirus, so she pressed the center's staff to take her to a hospital. Once at the hospital, the staff found she had adenovirus, and she later developed pneumonia as a secondary infection.
4. The New Jersey Department of Health did not comment on how many sick children are still in their facility or how many were taken to hospitals, but the two new cases indicated the virus is still spreading through the facility.
5. Shereef Elnahal, MD, New Jersey health commissioner, said in a statement that he is hesitant about moving patients recovering from adenovirus to other facilities for fear of spreading the virus further. Another New Jersey facility, Voorhees Pediatric Facility, has confirmed eight adenovirus cases and no deaths.
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