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New Jersey - Enterovirus 68 (EV-D68) ruled as cause of Hamilton preschooler's death.

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Pathfinder

Editor, Senior Moderator
Hamilton preschooler dies of respiratory illness, district says in phone alert to parents

By Keith Brown | Times of Trenton
on September 26, 2014 at 11:17 AM, updated September 29, 2014 at 3:37 PM

HAMILTON -- A preschool student at a Hamilton elementary school has died of an unidentified respiratory illness, a township health officer said Friday.

Eli Waller, a 4-year-old student at Yardville Elementary School, died Thursday of a yet-unidentified respiratory illness, according to a pre-recorded call sent to parents Friday morning from school principal Elena M. Manning.

Eli had been a student in the afternoon preschool session since last year, the call said.

Jeff Plunkett, Hamilton Township health officer, said tests are being run by the state Department of Health to determine if the boy died of a form of influenza.

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Influenza is ruled out in Hamilton preschooler's death, CDC to test for Enterovirus D-68

By Keith Brown | Times of Trenton
on September 29, 2014 at 11:18 AM, updated September 29, 2014 at 1:41 PM

HAMILTION -- Influenza did not cause the death of a Hamilton preschooler last week and the case has been turned over to federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine how the 4-year-old died, health officials said Monday.

The state Department of Health over the weekend ruled out influenza in a series of tests. after a Yardville Elementary School preschool student died at home Thursday of a still-undetermined respiratory illness, Hamilton Health Official Jeff Plunkett said Monday.

The CDC in Atlanta, Ga., is expected to begin testing to determine if the boy's death was caused by Enterovirus D-68, Plunkett said. Plunkett said there was no timeline on getting the results from the CDC.
...

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2014/09/flu_ruled_out_in_preschooler.html
 
Re: New Jersey - Influenza is ruled out in Hamilton preschooler's death, CDC to test for Enterovirus D-68

Re: New Jersey - Influenza is ruled out in Hamilton preschooler's death, CDC to test for Enterovirus D-68

CDC Confirms First New Jersey Death Involving Enterovirus D68
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tonight notified the New Jersey Department of Health that a Mercer County child who died last week tested positive for the respiratory illness enterovirus D68 (EV-D68).

"Our thoughts remain with the family at this very difficult time," said Health Commissioner Mary E. O'Dowd. "While the child has tested positive for EV-D68, the cause of death has not yet been determined and it is unclear if EV-D68 played a direct role or was a contributing factor in his death."

The Mercer County's child's death is the first New Jersey child death involving EV-D68.

The CDC also notified the Department tonight of an additional confirmed case of EV-D68 in a Middlesex County child. Including tonight's two new confirmed cases of EV-D68, the state currently has nine confirmed cases of EV-D68 in the following counties: Camden, Burlington, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris Essex, Passaic and Sussex.

Typically, EV-D68 causes upper respiratory symptoms such as cough, runny nose, sneezing and body/muscle aches and possibly low-grade fever. If children become ill, parents should consult with their health care provider.

New Jersey, like the rest of the U.S., is in the middle of the respiratory virus season. Many different viruses are common this time of year, including influenza, rhinovirus and more than 100 other types of enteroviruses.

Commissioner O'Dowd said the virus is causing respiratory illnesses around the state-along with flu and other respiratory viruses. The preventive steps people can take to avoid becoming ill and the treatment are similar to those of most respiratory illnesses like the flu.

CDC has tested a high volume of specimens nationwide, and of the specimens tested by the CDC laboratory to date, only about half have tested positive for EV-D68. The Department has received several tests back from the CDC that were negative for EV-D68 and we have additional test results pending. New Jersey labs cannot test specifically for EV-D68.

Good hand hygiene is your best defense against getting infected with enterovirus:

Washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, especially after changing diapers. Hand sanitizers are not effective against entroviruses
Avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
Avoiding kissing, hugging, and sharing cup or eating utensils with people who are sick
Disenfecting frequently touched surfaces, such as toys and doorknobs, especially if someone is sick
"Enterovirus D68 is treated the same as other respiratory illnesses that are seen in children this time of year," the Commissioner said. There is no vaccine or specific antiviral medication for enterovirus infections. However, individuals should be aware of other illnesses-such as the flu-that are preventable. It's never too early to get a flu shot.

Enteroviruses are transmitted through close contact with an infected person, or by touching objects or surfaces that are contaminated with the virus and then touching the mouth, nose, or eyes.

"Parents and caregivers should be aware that children with weakened immune systems or underlying medical conditions, such as asthma, may experience severe complications and require hospitalization with supportive therapy," Commissioner O'Dowd said.

In the upcoming weeks, more states will have confirmed cases of EV-D68 infection. It can take a while for the CDC to test specimens and obtain lab results as EV-D68 testing can only be done by CDC and a small number of state public health laboratories. These results will help public health officials track the spread and the trends regarding EV-D68 nationwide.

The Department recognizes the importance of continued monitoring of EV-D68 in New Jersey. Now that the virus is present in the state, the Department will not test every suspect EV-D68 case since a diagnosis of EV-D68 in patients will not change clinical management or public health actions.

Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NJDeptofhealth

http://www.nj.gov/health/news/2014/approved/20141003b.html
 
Re: New Jersey - Influenza is ruled out in Hamilton preschooler's death, CDC confirmed presence of Enterovirus D-68

Re: New Jersey - Influenza is ruled out in Hamilton preschooler's death, CDC confirmed presence of Enterovirus D-68

Official: Enterovirus 68 virus caused boy?s death

By - Associated Press - Saturday, October 4, 2014
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) ? A virus that has been causing severe respiratory illness across the country is responsible for the death of a 4-year-old boy, a state medical examiner determined.

Hamilton Township health officer Jeff Plunkett said the Mercer County medical examiner?s office found the death of Eli Waller was the result of enterovirus 68. The virus has sickened more than 500 people in 43 states and Washington, D.C. ? almost all of them children.

...

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news...rus-68-virus-caused-boys-death/#ixzz3FGWl3Fl4
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
 
Re: New Jersey - Enterovirus 68 (EV-D68) ruled as cause of Hamilton preschooler's death.

New Jersey boy went to bed fine, didn't wake up -- due to enterovirus D68

By Greg Botelho, CNN

updated 6:04 PM EDT, Sat October 4, 2014

(CNN) -- Eli -- a sweet, active, blonde-haired preschooler -- had gone to sleep feeling fine, perhaps dreaming of playing with his sisters or having a fun day at school.

He didn't make it through the night.

While the young boy died sometime between the night of Wednesday, September 24, and the following morning, it wasn't until Friday night that authorities figured out why: enterovirus D68, a particularly pernicious strain of an otherwise common virus that has been particularly widespread this year.

While it's been detected in at least four people who died, Eli's case is the first in which authorities have definitively cited enterovirus D68 as the cause of death.

Jeff Plunkett, the health officer in Eli's hometown of Hamilton Township, New Jersey, explained Saturday that, while the boy was born premature, "he had no other existing condition" and his parents no reason to believe he was direly ill before the virus took his life. Eli was 4.

"He was asymptomatic and fine, and the next morning he had passed," Plunkett told reporters. "So the onset was very rapid, very sudden. And that's clearly the big difference (between enterovirus D68 and other enterovirus strains)."

Authorities are testing one other child who attended preschool at Eli's school, Yardville Elementary, albeit in a different class, for enterovirus D68. That boy has been treated at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and is now recovering at home, according to Plunkett.

There are no other suspected cases in the town of 90,000 residents. Nor is there any sign of pervasive sickness at Yardville Elementary or other town schools, with attendance levels around normal.
...
Read more...
http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/04/health/new-jersey-enterovirus-68-death/index.html
 
Re: New Jersey - Enterovirus 68 (EV-D68) ruled as cause of Hamilton preschooler's death.

Hamilton Students Back To School Following Child?s Enterovirus Death

Second Hamilton Student Being Tested For Virus

October 6, 2014 12:00 PM

HAMILTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) ? Students in Hamilton, New Jersey were back in school Monday after the death of a 4-year-old boy from enterovirus D68.
...
Waller attended the afternoon preschool session while the other student, who is showing symptoms, was in a morning class, CBS 2?s Christine Sloan reported. Health officials say that preschooler has been released from the hospital.

?It?s possible surface contact, but I think that?s remote how the teachers and the custodial staff handle that classroom and that school, but nothing has been eliminated,? District Health Office Jeffrey Plunkett said.

Eli?s father, Andy, issued a statement thanking the community in Hamilton Township for their support and help. He and his wife are establishing The First Day of School Foundation, which will support special education students.
...
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/10...to-school-following-childs-enterovirus-death/
 
Re: New Jersey - Enterovirus 68 (EV-D68) ruled as cause of Hamilton preschooler's death.

Pinkeye Was Only Symptom in Child Killed by Enterovirus

By Michelle Fay Cortez Oct 5, 2014 11:01 PM CT
...
Four-year-old Eli Waller, of Hamilton Township, was kept home from school by his mother on Wednesday, Sept. 23, because he was developing a little bit of pinkeye, said Jeff Plunkett, the health officer for the township. He was otherwise fine and had been in school on Sept. 21 and 22.

Waller, a triplet with two sisters, never woke up.

?Between the time his mom put him to bed Wednesday night and when she went to wake him up on Thursday morning, he passed,? Plunkett said in a telephone interview yesterday. ?He had no other symptoms whatsoever.?

The Mercer County medical examiner?s office on Oct. 4 listed Waller?s cause of death as Enterovirus D68, or EV-D68...

The virus has been documented in the deaths of four people so far in the U.S., based on testing by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It?s not entirely clear what role the virus played in those deaths. A 10-year-old girl from Rhode Island who died in late September was the first reported fatality linked to the disease.
...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...y-symptom-in-child-killed-by-enterovirus.html
 
Re: New Jersey - Enterovirus 68 (EV-D68) ruled as cause of Hamilton preschooler's death.

This is unsettling, since my 5 year old is recovering from a respiratory infection (which has spread to his 2 yr old and 8 mo old brothers) that started with PINK EYE!! this is the second URI to tear through our house in the past 4 weeks. I wonder how many mild cases of EV-D68 there are since testing is only being done for hospitalizations.....I have a feeling it is a lot more prominent than it seems.
 
Re: New Jersey - Enterovirus 68 (EV-D68) ruled as cause of Hamilton preschooler's death.

Interesting. Late September our hospital group received a memorandum from health and safety advising of a conjunctivitis outbreak and to basically-don't come to work with pink eye. I work in my hospital's ID research dept (urban tertiary care pediatric) but we have no EV-D68 yet. I share an office with surveillance.
 
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