The message went out from government leaders, health officials and the media last month: Don't panic. The strain of swine flu sweeping the nation was not particularly deadly, no worse than the seasonal influenza, not nearly as widespread. And Utahns listened, perhaps too well.

Instead of tapering off, the flu seems to be catching on in the Beehive State, ground zero for one of the more active outbreaks in the nation. It appears that Utahns have let down their guard, and the state is beginning to pay a price.

Utah has now experienced eight deaths (seven in Salt Lake County), including six since last Friday, linked to the Novel Type A H1N1 swine flu virus. That's the second highest number of deaths in the nation, trailing only New York.

Plus, 129 Utahns have been hospitalized with the flu as of Wednesday, including more than 70 in the past 10 days. And the number of confirmed cases had swelled to 688 by last Friday, the seventh highest tally in the nation, and more than all of our neighboring states. Utah is the only Intermountain West state to experience an H1N1 death.

To keep things in perspective, approximately 200 to 350 Utahns, primarily the young, the old and those with underlying health conditions, die each year from complications of the seasonal flu. And 236 Utahns were hospitalized for the seasonal flu this year. Plus, while the World Health Organization has declared a global pandemic with 35,928 confirmed H1N1 cases and 163 deaths worldwide through Monday, the development of vaccines is well under way and the illness responds well to antiviral medication.

Utah public health officials speculate that the severity of the outbreak here is due to our relatively young population and a quick introduction of the illness borne by persons who traveled to Mexico, where the flu is believed to have begun, in April.

Robert Rolfs, the Utah state epidemiologist, told The Tribune that the flu is now so widespread that anyone exhibiting the common symptoms -- sore throat, fever, cough -- can be presumed to have the swine flu if they test positive for the Type A influenza. Health officials, having confirmed that the illness is spreading, will only track hospitalizations from the flu from this point forward.

So, if you've tuned out the flu, it's time to raise your antenna again.

Wash your hands, cough or sneeze into your sleeve, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Stay home if you're sick, and contact your physician. Again, don't panic. But take precautions, and help keep the flu from spreading.