6 children dead, 12 sick in viral outbreak at rehab center

A general look of the marquee outside of the Wanaque Center For Nursing And Rehabilitation, where New Jersey state Health Department confirmed the 18 cases of adenovirus, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018, in Haskell, N.J. The outbreak has left six children dead and 12 others sick. The facility has been told it can't admit any new patients until the outbreak ends. Adenoviruses usually just cause mild illnesses. But officials say this outbreak is particularly severe because it's affecting medically fragile children with severely compromised immune systems. They also note this strain has been particularly associated with disease in communal living facilities. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) A general look of the marquee outside of the Wanaque Center For Nursing And Rehabilitation, where New Jersey state Health Department confirmed the 18 cases of adenovirus, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018, in Haskell, N.J. The outbreak has left six children dead and 12 others sick. The facility has been told it can't admit any new patients until the outbreak ends. Adenoviruses usually just cause mild illnesses. But officials say this outbreak is particularly severe because it's affecting medically fragile children with severely compromised immune systems. They also note this strain has been particularly associated with disease in communal living facilities. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

By Associated Press October 23, 2018 3 min read

A severe viral outbreak at a New Jersey rehabilitation center for “medically fragile children” has left six youngsters dead and 12 others sick, the state Health Department said Tuesday.

There have been 18 cases of adenovirus at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Haskell, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of New York, the New Jersey Health Department said in a statement.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an email that no one was available to comment on how unusual it is for six adenovirus deaths in such a population of patients.

The strain afflicting the children is usually associated with acute respiratory illness, according to the CDC, which on its website instructs health workers to report unusual clusters to state or local health departments.

The Health Department didn’t release the ages of the victims or address the severity of the illness in the other dozen cases.