Reader comments
2 more die from H1N1 flu virus

end of times | 11:39 a.m. June 17, 2009

oh but we're a we can fix anything society...maybe we can't.

where | 12:35 p.m. June 17, 2009

I really wish they would tell us where.

What are we, children?

Re: where | 1:29 p.m. June 17, 2009

You can thank federal rules for that: The Health Department is prohibited from releasing any "personal" information about the person, other than age and sex.

Comments continue below

John Pack Lambert | 1:48 p.m. June 17, 2009

Utah has had more deaths from swine flu than California.

Sad | 2:12 p.m. June 17, 2009

The hard thing to take is that approximately half of the deaths, according to the CDC, are of previously healthy people in the prime of life.

cuscoln | 2:54 p.m. June 17, 2009

re:re: where: Actually there are no federal rules that limit what the health department can release to age and sex. There are rules against providing enough information to identify an individual. Here in New Mexico, the Department of Health has always told what counties the cases are in and, in the case of schoolchildren, even down to the name of the school.

V | 3:16 p.m. June 17, 2009

We should be able to know the names of the people, so that we can know if we, or our chldren have been in contact with any of the people who are infected.

Agree | 3:32 p.m. June 17, 2009

HPPA prevents hospitals from releasing private patient information BUT the courts have ruled many times that dead people do not have privacy rights.

Release the names, cities, states.
Age and underlying medical condition.

Nathan | 3:38 p.m. June 17, 2009

It's time to start telling us what some of these "identifiable underlining conditions" are.

Privacy | 4:36 p.m. June 17, 2009

The patients and their families have a right to privacy. You don't have a right to know who they are. Something to consider.... What good does that information do for you? If you are sick with the symptoms, go see a doctor. If you are not, thank your lucky stars. At this point you can pretty much assume that every person who has the flu has swine flu and you should act accordingly.

re: Nathan | 4:58 p.m. June 17, 2009

The underlying conditions that actually are the most common with H1N1 are; pregnancy, obesity, asthma, autoimmune diseases.

Some of the people that have died from H1N1 who have been reported as having underlying conditions, did not have any condition that actually contributed to their death. For instance, a man in Texas had gout. Others with reported underlying conditions have had families who strongly denied it.

I have some of the underlying | 5:58 p.m. June 17, 2009

symptoms and i would sure in the heck want to know where these deaths are centered around...does no good to go "oh by the way another one bit the dust" information ..that is more precise may actually end up preventing the spread or death of more people! Duh , take a good look at what other states are doing before we keep climbing in numbers!

Anonymous | 7:27 p.m. June 17, 2009

I don't get why all you people are making a fuss about this H1N1 deal. Honestly who cares if you know somebody with H1N1. Shouldn't you be practicing proper hygiene anyway? Since there is a pandemic, shouldn't you go to the doctor if you are feeling under the weather? Maybe you should also consider that the common cold kills many more thousands more per year than the H1N1 has or will. This whole thing has become irrational and absurd. P.S. In the past, vaccines for swine flu have killed more people than the flu itself.

In a hurry | 8:07 p.m. June 17, 2009

When I answered Nathan I was in a hurry. Diabetes and heart disease are also underlying conditions that would complicate H1N1.

Clinical Trial | 8:09 p.m. June 17, 2009

H1N1 vaccine clinical trials will be starting in Utah soon. Adult and Pediatric

re: Anonymous | 8:22 p.m. June 17, 2009

Before you call people absurd, learn some facts. The people who die from the yearly flu are almost always over 65 or infants with severe underlying conditions. This flu is mostly killing youth and adults in their prime and half have no underlying conditions.

Additionally, like most pandemics, the first wave is mild and after mutations, the second and third waves are much worse. Panic?...of course not. Becoming educated about the true facts and taking precautions for you and your family?...a no brainer.

Anonymous | 10:53 p.m. June 17, 2009

I have to say, that I have had the "wonderful" experience of having this flu, and it is not fun! I also have to say that we as a family went to great lengths to ensure the health of my family, friends and neighbors. Fortunately, neither my husband or any of my children have gotten it. What I am most upset about, is those people who feel it necessary to still go to church or out in public when they are not feeling well... For heaven's sake, STAY HOME!!! Do not put anyone else at risk. With just a little bit of preventive care...we can all be protected.

Anonymous | 6:59 a.m. June 18, 2009

I got the H1N1 flu from my sons friend, when he turned to cough in my direction, with his mouth uncovered.

We went to greath lengths to prevent the rest of the family from getting sick, and, fortunatly, no one else has been sick yet.

Our neighbor got sick and kept going to work and now all of his coworkers are also sick.

The truth is, no matter what efforts you take to protect yourself, it only takes one case of gross negligence to get you sick. There's nothing you can do about the person who's too ignorant, too lazy or too apathetic to take even basic precautions.

What's going to happen when this viris mutates and turns uber-deadly? Will people be charged with murder for going to work ill, or for coughing on someone else?

Davis | 8:06 a.m. June 18, 2009

and how many died in car accidents during this same period? Get your priorities straight.

anonymous | 8:13 a.m. June 18, 2009

you may have been the culprit in getting some of these people sick, we won't know until we know WHERE they are. and stay away from me ...the slightest chance of death is way too much..and don't go "oh,you have a much higher chance of getting struck by lightening because some of us want to know before we go!"

Salt Lake Valley Health Dept | 8:45 a.m. June 18, 2009

Those that are high risk of complications and hospitalization from H1N1/swine flu are:
Adults and children with certain chronic medical conditions including chronic lung problems such as asthma, heart, liver, blood, nervous system, muscular, or metabolic disorders such as diabetes.
Pregnant women.
Children younger than 5 years old (under 12 months are especially vulnerable).
Adults and children who have immunodeficiency or immuno-suppression, including that caused by medications such as corticosteroids and chemotherapy, or diseases such as HIV/AIDS.
Children ages 6 months to 18 years who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy and who might be at risk for experiencing Reye syndrome after influenza virus infection.
Persons 50 years old or older, particularly 65 years or older.
People who live in settings such as nursing homes, residential schools, and jails.

For additional H1N1/swine flu information, visit www.slvhealth.org, call 2-1-1, check us out on Twitter (@slvhealthdept) or Facebook, or email me at klilja@slco.org.

Kate Lilja, Salt Lake Valley Health Department

We are all going to die | 9:12 a.m. June 18, 2009

The End is here

Anonymous | 9:35 a.m. June 18, 2009

Yes, people should stay home if they have any reason to think they have the flu ... but the sad fact is, most people get symptoms AFTER being contagious already for a little while. Also, some of us have seasonal allergies at this time of year and are used to a little bit of the sniffles. We're all human ... I would guess most people are being as careful as they can be.

John | 9:36 a.m. June 18, 2009

I can't believe people think this isn't a big deal--try telling that to the families of those who died from this.

Just because there are "bigger deals" out there, doesn't mean this is not a big deal. If people are dieing, then it is apropos to report on it. End of story.

re: end is here | 9:38 a.m. June 18, 2009

Get a LIFE!!!!

ATC2120 | 9:47 a.m. June 18, 2009

Yah you may all die but we here southers are not (GA) Is do just fin good luck.

re: anon at 6/18/09 | 9:47 a.m. June 18, 2009

take a deep breath...... You can be contagious with a virus several days before showing any symptoms. Many people will live their day to day lives without knowing they are sick and potentially making others sick. That is why we wash our hands frequently and use basic good hygiene.

My son got the swine flu after being at a party with a child who didn't know he had it. My child developed symptoms two days later. He stayed quarantined until he finished the Tamiflu and was clear of symptoms. If it is helpful for you, before he got sick he spent the night at a friends, went to 7-11 several times, and went to the park. This was 3 weeks ago. Is this helpful to anyone who doesn't know us personally?

Phil | 10:24 a.m. June 18, 2009

I knew the young man who died in Davis County. He was a strong, football player boy. He was loved and will be greatly missed. This is a big deal, and something needs to be done fast.

question? | 12:50 p.m. June 18, 2009

are all the swine flu cases spread from those three kids that came back from a spring break vacation in mexico?

re: Question? at 12:50pm | 1:36 p.m. June 18, 2009

NO. Thousands of Utahns travel to Mexico and abroad for spring break. Thousands of tourists travel to Utah to ski and hike. There were probably so many points of exposure, it would be impossible to say there was a patient zero per se.

re: health department | 2:03 p.m. June 18, 2009

They are flat out wrong. Check with the WHO or CDC. So many health practitioners and departments are not up on their facts. There was an article yesterday explaining that the CDC was perplexed that so few people over 65 were getting H1N1 and that most of the deaths were youth and younger adults.

Informed | 2:41 p.m. June 18, 2009

Adding to what I wrote about Utah's health department, I thought I would paraphrase a few statements from some articles. I won't add links or quotes because I think that is against the policy for blogging here. The problem with the health department is that they are adding some H1N1 info to general flu info regarding the over 65 and infant threat.

Article from New York:
The health department said that the virus is infecting people ages 10 to 50. The virus isnt being seen as much in the elderly, infants and babies.

Article from Toronto:
Dr. Michael Gardam, is the head of infectious disease prevention and control for Ontario's public health agency. He said that the constant talk of "underlying conditions" is just wishful thinking, and an attempt to explain away the unusual age range of those that the new virus is sending to hospital or to the morgue.

An article in Wisconsin:
74 percent of those sickened have been ages 20 or younger. They said that health officials do not know why.

Re: Informed | 4:36 p.m. June 18, 2009

Yeah, because obviously a health department in New York or a doctor in Toronto knows more about Utah's flu epidemic than the local health department which has been tracking the majority of actual cases here since the outbreak began.

Makes perfect sense to me.

Informed | 5:08 p.m. June 18, 2009

If you check with the CDC and the WHO, they have the same information. I am very sad that our health department has not informed some of the doctors who are only testing people over 65 or under three since they are the group least threatened by this virus, unlike regular flu. That means we have people in danger due to not receiving tamiflu which needs to be given within 48 hrs for best chance.

I have studied charts that show stats on who have died. Even the Utah deaths confirm this information.

When Utah asked for input on their H5N1 plan, they also had wrong information then which they changed after I informed them of the correct statistics. They do need to do a better job of having current information instead of relying on traditional figures.

Also Informed | 11:37 a.m. June 22, 2009

I agree with you, Informed. I've been saying the same things you have.

A/H1N1 is frightening as the wrong ages are getting it, compared to the most vulnerable populations for regular flu season. Other UT publications have quoted UT physicians for the factors they see as the most important of those who become infected.

Interesting about H5N1. Since I visit the CDC often, I do know what you're talking about. Frightening to me that Viet Name now has H1N1 and had a death in May from H5N1, plus other infections. Mutation will happen somewhere, if it hasn't already.

I know the CDC is denoucing the information from Brazil and they will continue to do so until they can replicate or study the data. Nonetheless, the rest of us can learn, if we want to.

Education, preparation and not being passive if someone in your family is sick. Get the medical help you or family members need!

Survivor | 3:54 p.m. June 23, 2009

Its June 23rd, no report on the number of H1N1 or the concentrated areas. Why is Utah Dept of Health keeping the number of confirmed H1N1 cases a secret?
When the cases reached around 900, the reported number of cases ceased.
I know the core of ALL news in Utah is to make the state look good and not to offend the "the church"; however reporting H1N1 confirmed cases has no effect on either.

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