"It's important for these people to seek medical care if they are ill with an influenza-like illness," he said.

Rolfs urged physicians who see high-risk patients exhibiting flu symptoms not to wait for laboratory confirmation, but to begin antiviral treatment.

Health officials said that at this point, most Utahns with the flu have the H1N1 virus. Symptoms are similar to seasonal influenza and include a fever of 101 degrees or higher, cough, sore throat, headache, body aches, extreme fatigue and possible nausea and vomiting.

CDC officials said that there have been 11,468 probable and confirmed H1N1 cases in the U.S., including 770 hospitalizations and 19 deaths.

In Utah, Vitek said the numbers are now so large, "it's almost impossible to keep track of everyone that is testing positive." She said within days, state health officials will begin following only those people with the disease who are hospitalized.

"In the beginning, you can do case management and try to contain the spread, but we know now the transmission is out there," she said.

Early publicity led people to follow safety precautions, including regular hand-washing and staying at home if there is evidence of flu symptoms. But the lack of publicity in the past two weeks "probably means people are behaving as usual," Vitek said.

"It's hard for us to keep repeating the messages over and over again," about the importance of hand-washing and isolation for the ill, "but unfortunately we have to."

In addition to the death in Utah, health officials in five other states reported deaths from H1N1 Thursday and said all the deceased patients had other health problems.

The death of an adult in Milwaukee was Wisconsin's first from the H1N1 virus. City Health Commissioner Bevan Baker said the person had a common underlying health condition that he would not specify.

A 74-year-old man from Gurnee, Ill., died Tuesday, according to the Lake County Health Department. Officials said he had significant medical conditions.

Officials in California said a 9-year-old Concord girl had been diagnosed with swine flu and had a bacterial infection before she died May 29.

Pennsylvania reported its first death from the illness, a 55-year-old Berks County woman who had significant underlying health issues.

In Arizona, a 64-year-old woman living in Pinal County became the fifth person in the state to die from complications of H1N1 virus, authorities said.

Contributing: Associated Press

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