H1N1 flu kills 5 more Utahns

As the H1N1 and seasonal flus continue to spread throughout the Beehive State, five more Utahns have died and scores of others have been hospitalized in the past week after contracting the flu.

The Utah Department of Health's newest report, released Wednesday, shows eight total deaths associated with the H1N1 virus since Sept. 1 — five more than the department reported a week ago. It also reported that 274 people have been hospitalized after contracting either H1N1 or the seasonal flu — more than double the 127 reported to date last week.

Two of the deaths were in Davis County, both females, one age 50-64 and another 65 or older. Two deaths were reported in Salt Lake Valley — a male age 25-39 and a female age 65 or older — and one in the Tri-County health district (Daggett, Duchesne and Uintah counties), a male age 25-49.

Tom Hudachko, spokesman for the state health department, said the rate of flu in Utah at this point is "already about what our average peak is, about 5.4 percent of the population, and it's only mid-October."

"We're at least two months ahead of when we normally see the peak of the flu season, and you never know when you're at the peak until you've passed it and can look back to see the numbers falling," Hudachko said. Health officials don't anticipate that will happen for some time, he said.

While the numbers more than doubled in one week for both deaths and hospitalizations, Hudachko said residents need to keep the numbers in context. "It's important to understand that those numbers are proportional to the overall number of people getting sick, and the more people who do, the higher the numbers go. The hospitalizations and deaths are in (expected) proportion right now to the number of people getting sick."

The department will launch a new media campaign Monday, featuring TV and billboard advertising urging Utahns to get vaccinated, he said.

As the number contracting either flu virus continues to rise, local health departments have been trying to stay ahead of the wave of illness, urging people to get vaccinated. Lines have formed outside health department clinics in Davis and Utah counties within the past week, and Salt Lake County could see its own lines this weekend.

The Salt Lake Valley Health Department will hold mass H1N1 vaccination clinics on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., or until its 7,000 new doses of the vaccine are gone. (See accompanying box for addresses.)

The number of people eligible for the vaccine has expanded, with officials now urging the following groups to be vaccinated:

Pregnant women.

Those who live with or care for children younger than 6 months old.

Health-care or emergency personnel.

Children 6 months old to young adults 24 years old.