SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4 News) The weekly situation report from the Utah Department of Health shows one reported death last week in the state related to the H1N1 flu virus. The report does not release the name, however it says it was a woman in southwest Utah between the ages of 50 and 64. It did not say if she had any other underlying health condition.
The report also shows that swine flu activity in the state decreased again last week for the fourth week in a row. There were, according to the report, 72 more flu hospitalizations reported in the previous week.
Rachael Herlighy of the Utah Department of Health told ABC4's Ross Becker that it is an encouraging sign that the cases are leveling off, but she warns that the level of swine flu in Utah is still very high, higher than epidemic thresholds so we cannot let down our guard. "The amount of influenza we are seeing is still typical of what we might see in the middle of an influenza season, so it's really still quite a bit of activity.", she said.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control is warning people to work extra hard to prevent the spread of the virus during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Millions will be crowding airports, buses, cars and dinner tables to celebrate with family and friends and health officials say it is a prime time for spreading the H1N1 virus. In fact, they expect to see a surge in cases in the next few weeks because of the holidays.
At Salt Lake Airport on Wednesday people were saying their goodbyes and greeting family in for the long weekend. The airport has hand sanitizer units on the walls on certain areas of the building, but during the time ABC4 was there no one was seen using the anti-bacterial. The CDC says if you are traveling wash your hands often and resist the handshakes and face pats until after you have used a hand sanitizer.
