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The New Jersey Department of Health was working on Tuesday to contain a severe viral outbreak at a pediatric center that has left six children dead and 12 others infected. The state has barred the facility, the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, from accepting new patients until the outbreak is contained. Children at the Wanaque Center, in northern New Jersey, are pediatric long-term care residents, with some reliant on ventilators and tracheal tubes. (Corasaniti, 10/23)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an email that it is providing technical assistance to the state. In the past 10 years, cases of severe illness and death from the type of infection found at the facility have been reported in the United States, said CDC spokeswoman Kate Fowlie in an email, though it’s unclear how many deaths there have been. 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. (Catalini, 10/23)

The New Jersey Department of Health said it's an ongoing outbreak investigation and workers were at the facility Tuesday. A team at the facility on Sunday found minor handwashing deficiencies. Adenoviruses can cause mild to severe illness, though serious illness is less common. People with weakened immune systems or existing respiratory or cardiac disease are at higher risk of developing severe illness from an adenovirus infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Ly and Scutti, 10/24)

Adenovirus is spread from one infected person to another through close personal contact, such as touching or shaking hands; coughing or sneezing; or touching a contaminated object or surface, then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes before washing your hands. It can also be spread through contact with an infected person's stool, including during diaper changing. (10/23)

The mother of a seriously ill 14-year-old boy says it took more than a week to learn about the severe viral outbreak at a New Jersey healthcare facility that sent her son to the hospital and claimed the lives of six other children. According to the New Jersey Department of Health officials, there have been 18 reported cases of adenovirus involving children at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Haskell, Passaic County. Six of those cases resulted in fatalities. (Kent, 10/23)