Utah scaling back on daily swine flu death reports

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Utah scaling back on daily swine flu death reports

Associated Press - June 19, 2009 10:45 AM ET

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Health officials say they will no longer provide a daily

tally of deaths associated with the swine flu in Utah.

It's up to the state's 12 local health departments to decide how they report

swine flu-related deaths. So far, the deaths have been announced as they are

confirmed.

Now the Utah Department of Health plans to make an announcement once a week - on

Wednesdays - reporting the number of deaths and hospitalizations associated with

the virus.

There have been eight deaths associated with swine flu in Utah, 6 of those in

about the last week.

Tom Hudachko, state health department spokesman, says announcing the deaths on a

daily basis could dilute the public health message because people will start

tuning out the reports.

Health officials say an unusual number of deaths could warrant making a special

report.

Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not

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