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SALT LAKE CITY -- A fifth person has died from swine flu in Utah. The latest victim is a 58-year-old woman.
Salt Lake Valley Health Department officials tell the Deseret News the woman died at a Salt Lake area hospital Monday morning. She had a history of "underlying health conditions" that may have contributed to her death.
Her death follows the third and fourth swine flu deaths in the state over the weekend. Family members of one of those people, Francine Rushton, have expressed concerns that doctors at Jordan Valley Medical Center turned her away twice.
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She died Saturday after returning to the hospital a third time. In a statement, the hospital says it can confirm all established Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines are followed in these cases.
In several of the four other fatal cases of swine flu, the victims had tested negative for the H1N1 virus prior to their deaths. State epidemiologist Dr. Robert Rolfs say despite CDC and state health department guidelines, physicians need to use their own good judgment and not rely on rapid outpatient tests, which may not be accurate.
"If you're a clinician in Utah right now, we have a pretty vigorous transmission of this virus. If I see somebody who seems like they have influenza and I only have a rapid test, I would be inclined to trust my clinical judgment right now even if the test is negative," he said.
In most cases, rapid testing for conventional seasonal influenza is 70 percent reliable. It's less reliable for the H1N1 virus.
Dr. Rolfs says the vast majority of those people with swine flu will get better without medical help. The state reserves its own slower, more accurate testing for the small percentage of people who are hospitalized.
Despite sickness levels, Dr. Rolfs says the total H1N1 cases, including hospitalizations, are comparable to what the state would normally see in a seasonal "moderate" influenza outbreak.
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
