The death of a 4-year-old preschool student from Mercer County has officials running tests for a contagious respiratory disease that has sickened children across the country.
The boy attended Yardville Elementary School in Hamilton Township, N.J. He passed away suddenly earlier this week and health officials believe a respiratory illness is to blame.
But what exactly killed the boy is still unclear. It's unknown whether he had any underlying health conditions.
Hamilton Township Health Officer Jeffrey Plunkett said tests are being conducted at a state lab for various strains of flu.
Culture swabs have also been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia to determine whether the boy was infected with enterovirus D-68.
The virus has been sweeping across the country over the past two months infecting 277 people in 40 states and the District of Columbia, according to CDC stats. New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware are among those states.
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Test results for the flu could come back as early as Friday night. The CDC results may not be released until early next week.
School employees on Friday sanitized classrooms and toys that the boy may have come in contact with. District officials say they have not received any other reports of children becoming ill.
