Reader comments
Utah child dies of H1N1: 489 people confirmed to have virus, state says

just a thought | 3:50 p.m. June 4, 2009

but our borders are open and we don't exactly have or keep a record on what diseases are brought here like hipatitus, stds, tb to name but a few..don't use the public restrooms i say!and the homeless shelter is where alot of this was spawned!! again the health practices weren't exactly condusive to the gateway center which could then be called the gateway to all illness we may never know again more research!!

Anonymous | 4:26 p.m. June 4, 2009

My mother was just diagnosed with this flu today. And it had nothing to do with immigrants or homeless shelters.

Wondering | 5:05 p.m. June 4, 2009

about how the swine flu got here and who is to blame is useless. What people need to do is stay home if they are sick and not spread it. To many people in this state will try to come to work if they are on their deathbed. Now I think it is great to be dedicated, but in this case reconsider.

I agree, don't us a public restroom unless you have to and then be very careful. Wash you hands and use a sanitizer.

This thing is not over. We had 67 cases by May 15th and now on June 4 we have over 400. Sounds like it could grow even more. Maybe we should look more serious towards this issue.

Comments continue below

to anonymous | 6:20 p.m. June 4, 2009

look at the figures and i dare you to stay with the 1000's who stay at the shelter on a nigthly basis during the winter and guarantee that this flu was there well before it was diagnosed. if the place doesn't even clean the blankets on a regular basis then what happens is a form of germ-bug warfare. then look where the populace goes into the general public..kinda like a typhoid mary syndrome...duh!and that is why my family won't go near the gateway if there is even a smidgen of a chance of getting this flu!! so i will dine no swine!!

Just a mom | 7:10 p.m. June 4, 2009

I used to teach at a University. Since missing a couple of classes can result in poor performance in the class, many students would attend class whether they were sick or not. My son is going to BYU. He has class every day and I was not surprised when he called me today that he was diagnosed with the swine flu. Let's not condemn the less fortunate in our society for spreading the disease. Any student can do the same. Just wash your hands and cough or sneeze in a tissue. The flu is pretty mild, and the medication will allow him to go back to school, probably on Monday. My daughter, who is also living at home, has a compromised immune system. She's on tamiflu for all security. I'm not worried. We're making the best of it. It's not often that my son is home :) Just remember folks that sensation sells and don't take everything that is written in the papers for absolute truth.

re: just a mom | 1:54 a.m. June 5, 2009

Tell your kid to stay home and call the professor. Have a fellow student call him during class and let him listen to the lecture over the phone.

TEACH HIM AND OTHERS TO NOT THINK OF THEMSELVES BUT OF OTHERS.

Informed National Reader | 3:16 a.m. June 5, 2009

My condolenscenes to the family who lost a child to H1N1.

Just a mom, I think you mean well, but would encourage you to state what are your OPINIONS vs. Medical Facts as such. Not everyone has access to anti-viral medication, within the 48 hrs. it is effective for those infected, or as a prophylactic.

Families, who are in the waiting rooms of UT hospitals encouraging their loved ones to fight this unique virus, may not see things the same as you. Or, they may realize they use to state ignorant comments too not realizing how rapidly this unusual virus can require a a patient who has "mild flu" to be hospitalized.

Everyone is responsible for helping stopping an epidemic or pandemic.

I'll refer readers to the CDC or WHO websites of how to best protect themselves, or care for a sick family member or read the stastics about cases etc. The CDC's numbers are outdated the minute they are posted.

Currently, in the U.S., there are about 30 families in about 13 states who have lost a loved one to H1N1.

Please learn more.

This article is NOT sensational. It is an attempt to educate.

re:just a thought | 7:32 a.m. June 5, 2009

I thought the Utah pandemic started in Park City with high school students who went to Mexico for Spring Break. Now we hear about university students spreading the illness. How many homeless people live in Park City and go to Mexico for Spring Break or attend class at a university.

Enough on blaming of poor immigrants and the less fortunate already! They are the victims of society's ills, not the cause.

Common Sense | 9:26 a.m. June 5, 2009

Two? And it merits space in your paper? How many people in Utah have died of other illnesses? Swine Flu coverage is becoming ridiculous.

Jeff | 9:40 a.m. June 5, 2009

Fact: Swine Flu Originated in Mexico
Fact: Travel betweeen U.S. and Mexico is not regulated.
Fact: Millions of Mexican Citizens living in U.S. travel back and forth from Mexico to the U.S. multiple times a year.
Fact: Salt Lake city has a high number of Mexican citizens working and living in the area.

And all we can get from officials is "we're puzzled as to why Salt Lake has the third highest number of swine flu cases..."?!!

Wake UP PEOPLE, ethnic pandering and political correctness is going to destroy us!!!

right on with the right on Jeff | 12:32 p.m. June 5, 2009

many of the homeless go with out their meds yet alone the illegals..there's no hate intended but to ignore the obvious is to allow not only the flu to spread but other diseases as well. so once again they become the victums who remain untested at this time. and i don't give a hooot if i am politically correct but i won't be a risking me or mine to prove it!!

Sorry For Your Loss | 2:14 p.m. June 5, 2009

Losing a child under the age of 18 must be a horrible experience.

My thoughts and prayers go out to this child's family.

Through the love of God and His Son, Jesus Christ, you will one day be re-united.

God bless.

Dan MaloEnid, OK

An Ounce of Prevention | 2:20 p.m. June 5, 2009

"Common Sense | 9:26 a.m. June 5, 2009
Two? And it merits space in your paper? How many people in Utah have died of other illnesses? Swine Flu coverage is becoming ridiculous."

I find it interesting, as I bet a lot of other reades here do, that the very "common sense" you claim to have has fled far from the space between your ears.

The reason this story is significant is because it also says that Utah is now third in the nation in terms of the number of reported swine flu cases.

While I do think that the swine flu thing has been a little over-hyped by the media as a whole, if your home state is still increasing in infected patients/people, that's enough to warrant attention.

dave | 2:42 p.m. June 5, 2009

I am very sorry for this family who lost their child, and with anyone who has to endure this flu. But this flu is nothing special. Thousands of people in our country die from the flu every year--usually the very young, very old, and those with health complications require hospitalization and are susceptible to death. Same with this "swine flu" virus--just one of several human flu strains, with a little RNA from pig flu mixed in. It doesn't deserve any more media attention than the flu season gets every year.

The only difference this time around? We've spent hundreds of millions (billions?) of dollars to build an infrastructure to combat the flu, so we have elaborate epidemiology and genomic sequencing technologies, so we've learned that bits of this particular flu virus' genome originated in pig/bird flu viruses in Mexico. Other people are still dying from other strains of flu virus, but they get no media attention because it's not "SWINE FLU!!". This whole affair just gives the flu industry something to do besides sit on their hands, and raises public "awareness" so we continue to funnel taxpayer money to the flu industry.

Bree Hill | 3:34 p.m. June 5, 2009

I heard about a great new program called Germy Wormy Germ Smart that teaches kids to understand how germs spread and how to NOT spread germs. Since my child learned it at daycare, we don't play the "pass the germs" game anymore! It was so much fun, and it was amazing how quickly the kids learrned healthier hygiene habits!

Schools.. | 5:57 p.m. June 5, 2009

As a mom of two elementary age children, I have been frustrated for years about the number of children who are sent to school sick... OR, who become sick at school, parents are called, but no one can pick them up, so they send the kids back to class! I realize that some families have working parents and or a single, working parent, but when it comes to children, it is a parent's responsibility to keep sick children at home and/or be able to make arrangements to have a sick child picked up from school.... neglecting this responsibility is extremely selfish, rude and disrespectful to other families who become ill because of such inconsiderate behavior. Schools could also do a much better job of DISCOURAGING sick children from coming to school (swine flu, or otherwise), starting with eliminating those ridiculous 'perfect attendance' awards which do nothing more than ENCOURAGE kids to come to school when they are ill. Whatever is going around, again, H1N1, or something else... I strongly believe that much of it is transmitted through school-aged children.

Margaret | 11:02 p.m. June 5, 2009

My grandson,who is 11 and lives in West Jordan, has just tested positive for swine flu. He is so sick that his parents took him to an instacare where he tested positive. 17 of the children in his school class were too sick to go to school today. The teacher is also very ill. The insta care didn't seem too concerned. Is the swine flu still being monitored?

re: Jeff | 1:16 a.m. June 6, 2009

Interesting, I had no idea that Mexican citizens could so easily live here and travel back and forth. In fact, the ones that are freely able to do that are those who have legally attained US citizenship. So much for the usual argument "I'm not against immigration, so long as it's legal." I guess we can see by your comment that it does all boil down to blatant racism after all.

Informed National Reader | 5:25 a.m. June 6, 2009

re: Dave's comments"

"Same with this "swine flu" virus--just one of several human flu strains, with a little RNA from pig flu mixed in. It doesn't deserve any more media attention than the flu season gets every year."

Dave,

Please list your scientific sources. I'd love to read them.

What makes A/H1N1 so unique, if one reads the scientific publications, is not only the rate at which it can and has mutated to jump species, it is unique because it containts some Bird, Human and TWO types of swine flu (from two different continents), in it. Recombination makes it different.

FINALLY, this medical community is waking up to realize the DIFFERENCES in patients who are the most severly ill or dying from A/H1N1.

The media is NOT focusing on this too much, IMO. Why would the World Health Organization meet emergently on 06/05 to assess the rapid spread, when they just met last week?

Yes, people do die during flu season. However, patients don't die from these symptoms in the non-flu season.

There is a pattern change with A/H1N1. WHY can't people understand the difference?

farmington, ut | 3:51 p.m. June 20, 2009

I'm hearing that there's no church for us tomorrow. Too many cases of H1N1 in the church group.

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