New Jersey preschooler’s death probed for enterovirus

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) -- Respiratory illness is suspected in the death of a preschool student in New Jersey.

The 4-year-old attended Yardville Elementary School in Hamilton Township.

Township Health officer Jeff Plunkett tells the Times of Trenton an unidentified respiratory illness is believed to be the culprit.

Plunkett says the state Health Department is trying to determine if the boy died of a form of influenza. He also says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has agreed to expedite tests to determine whether enterovirus, which has sickened children in New Jersey and 21 other states, is to blame.

School Superintendent James Parla says the preschool classroom is being sanitized as a precaution.

The boy's name has not been released.
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