(Reuters) – The death toll rose to seven children on Wednesday, with 11 others still sick from an outbreak of adenovirus at a rehabilitation center in New Jersey, the state’s Health Department said.
The children who died were among 18 medically fragile young patients hospitalized with adenovirus at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in the town of Haskell, the department said.
Adenoviruses frequently cause mild illness, with cold-like symptoms, particularly in young children. But the children affected in this case have compromised immune systems, the health department said.
The 18 patients range in age from a toddler through young adulthood, with most under 18 years old, health department spokeswoman Nicole Kirgan said in an email. The department was not releasing exact ages for privacy reasons, Kirgan said.
The Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, which includes a pediatric center, has been instructed not to admit any new patients until the outbreak ends, the department said.
Haskell, in Passaic County, is located about 32 miles (50 km) northwest of New York.
Reporting by Peter Szekely in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bernadette Baum