Cases of the H1N1 virus appear to be subsiding locally after a busy period from mid-September through mid-October, TriCounty Health Department Director Joseph Shaffer told listeners at Thursday's Uintah Basin Regional Council meeting.

But now health officials are bracing for what will come next — the seasonal flu, which usually gains strength as the months become colder, Shaffer added.

“Remember back about two months ago we had this huge outbreak (of H1N1) in Uintah County that shut the high school down,” Shaffer said. “That was a good thing and a bad thing. That bad thing was we had a bunch of sick kids and the good thing was that was our peak, and we've been going downhill since then.”

Shaffer passed out a chart that served to prove his statement. It showed that Uintah and Duchesne school district absentees as a percentage of enrollment have dropped steadily since Oct. 23.

He said there are currently three types of influenza going around the Basin: the seasonal, “garden variety” flu; H1N1, which has garnered a lot of worldwide media attention and panic; and H5N1, “a scary one because it's pretty resistant to most of the things we're throwing at it.”

Hospitalizations for H1N1 are declining, Shaffer said. The health department has systems in place to track the amount of antiviral medications available at local pharmacies to ensure that there is enough to meet demand, he said.

He mentioned that the Basin realized one death from H1N1. A 31-year-old man from Randlett succumbed to complications from the virus in mid-October.

H1N1 vaccines were at first slow to arrive in the Basin but have since met most of the demand. The health department has given priority to high-risk individuals such as pregnant women, Shaffer said. Vaccines are distributed at TriCounty Health Department offices and to other area health-care providers.

The spread of H1N1 has been widely overhyped, he said. People need to use common sense to avoid the virus, as they would with any strain of influenza, and to keep from passing it along.

“Don't touch your face,” Shaffer said. “If you are sick, stay home. As employers, if somebody is sick, let them stay home. ... Keep washing, keep clean. Cough in your elbow.”

The council, consisting of area business, education and government leaders, gathers quarterly to discuss various issues affecting the region. Last week's meeting was held at the Strata Networks building in Roosevelt.