Sixth Utah death from H1N1 flu confirmed

Health officials have confirmed that a man who died Saturday had Novel Influenza H1N1 — the sixth confirmed death in Utah since the worldwide flu pandemic began.

Salt Lake Valley Health Department spokeswoman Pamela Davenport said the man, identified only as being between ages 25 and 50, died Saturday, but officials did not receive confirmation that he had the flu until Tuesday morning.

All six individuals died in Salt Lake County. Davenport said that is not surprising, given the large population and the presence of some of the state's largest hospitals.

Davenport said that 96 individuals have been hospitalized in Salt Lake County. The average age is 21, although the actual range is 10 days to 76 years.

Earlier deaths included a man, 21, who died in May, and a child between ages 5 and 18, who died in early June. A man, 42; a woman, 58; and another woman, 47, all died in the past week. Most had confirmed underlying medical conditions that health officials believe made them more susceptible once they had caught the flu.