Flu has killed 4 Utah children since October

Health officials say four children have died from the flu in Utah since October, and with a new strain of the illness, the threat may not subside for weeks.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports Trahern W. Jones, a pediatric infectious disease fellow with the University of Utah School of Medicine and Primary Children’s Hospital, said Wednesday that emergency rooms and clinics have been swamped with flu cases.

Utah Department of Health spokeswoman Jenny Johnson says the initial flu strain could still be in the community.

Health officials would not confirm which strains caused the four pediatric deaths, or when or where they occurred.

Northeast Utah has had the highest number of hospitalizations reported so far, with about 50 patients hospitalized this season in Daggett, Duchesne and Uintah counties.