N.J. child infected with enterovirus dies

Health officials say a New Jersey child who tested positive for a virus causing severe respiratory illness across the country has died, although it’s not clear what role the virus played in the child’s death.

A New Jersey Department of Health spokeswoman said Friday the agency was notified by federal health officials that a Mercer County child who died last week tested positive for enterovirus 68. Spokeswoman Donna Lensner would not provide any other specifics about the child.

Federal health officials say at least four people in the U.S. infected with the virus have died, but they also stress it’s not clear if the virus caused the deaths. It has sickened at least 500 people in 42 states and Washington, D.C. — almost all of them children.