Second Yardville Elementary School Child Negative for Enterovirus D68

Yardville Elementary EnterovirusA second elementary school child who recently became ill was tested for Enterovirus D68 and the test results came back negative, Hamilton Township officials announced this afternoon.

The child is a student at Yardville Elementary School, the same elementary school in which four-year-old Eli Waller attended.  Waller was determined by Mercer County Medical Examiner to have died as a result of Enterovirus D68 and is believed to be the first case in the United States where a death was attributed to the virus.

“While the Waller family continues to remain in the thoughts and prayers of all of our residents, our community continues to move forward from this tragedy,” Hamilton Township Mayor Kelly Yaede said in a written statement. “We are pleased to learn that this additional child illness case was not related to Enterovirus D68…I urge everyone’s continued vigilance in hygiene and sanitary efforts that help to prevent the spread of viruses. Hamilton Township will continue our many efforts to help protect the health of our community’s residents.”

Statewide, 18 children age 12 and younger have tested positive for Enterovirus D68, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. The New Jersey cases so far have included Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Essex, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Sussex counties.

The CDC has not confirmed a few other possible cases in Bound Brook, Elizabeth, or Hopewell.  The Hopewell Valley Regional School District emailed parents last week to inform them about an unconfirmed case of EV-68 in a student who attends Hopewell Valley Central High School.