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Santa Fe officer dies of leukemia, swine flu
12/13/2009, 4:00 p.m. EST
The Associated Press

(AP) — SANTA FE, N.M. - A Santa Fe police officer has died from complications due to swine flu and an acute form of leukemia.

Jason Hill, 39, was diagnosed with leukemia in August 2008 and was given three months to live. But Hill received extensive treatments, including a bone marrow transplant, and doctors told him in April that the cancer was in remission.

But Hill's leukemia returned in October, and he was diagnosed with H1N1 virus, pneumonia and bronchitis, said Santa Fe police Chief Aric Wheeler.

He said Hill died Saturday at Baylor University Hospital in Dallas.

Hill began his service career as a firefighter in Los Alamos before he went on to work for the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department and later the city's police department.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano said Hill stood out.

"He really cared a lot about the community, and I believe that's why he became an officer," Solano said. "He was one of my best deputies. He really cared about being an officer. It was more than just a job to him."

Wheeler said Hill wasn't just a good officer, but also a good man.

"I think it's a loss that will impact us all. You don't find enough police officers like him," he said. "He was willing to give the shirt off his back to anybody in the community at any time."

Hill was an avid weightlifter and semipro football player who worked out every day and appeared to be in perfect health before he was diagnosed with leukemia after experiencing severe back pain.

Tests confirmed the presence of acute myeloid leukemia, which starts in the bone marrow, quickly moves into the blood and can be fatal within a few months, according to the American Cancer Society.

Hill is survived by his wife, Annemarie Hill, and four children. Services are pending.

NM sees 3 more swine flu deaths
12/23/2009

(AP) — ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The New Mexico Health Department says three more people have died from swine flu, bringing the statewide total this year to 50 deaths.

The latest deaths include a 34-year-old woman from San Juan County and a 56-year-old man and 28-year-old man, both from Bernalillo County. All three had had chronic medical conditions that put them at higher risk for flu complications.

The Health Department says visits to health care providers for flu-like illness decreased over the last week from 3.3 percent to 3.1 percent. The department says flu-like illness is the best indicator of flu activity in the state.
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Data Analysis On NM Swine Flu Cases Released
January 28, 2010

SANTA FE, N.M. ( -- An analysis of swine flu cases in New Mexico shows that children younger than five have the highest rate of hospitalizations and people aged 50 to 64 have the highest death rate.

The New Mexico Department of Health's Epidemiology and Response Division analyzed data collected since April 2009.

New Mexico's overall rate of swine flu hospitalizations is 50.3 per 100,000 population. The rate for children younger than 5 is 135.5. That rate is more than 2 1/2 times higher than any other age group in New Mexico and twice the national estimate.

Children and young adults aged 5 to 24 had the second highest rate in New Mexico at 50.6 per 100,000 people. New Mexico's overall death rate due to swine flu is 2.6 per 100,000 people.

Health officials said there have been 52 deaths and 1,007 hospitalizations related to swine flu in New Mexico since last April.

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A 3-year-old Otero County boy has died of complications from swine flu.

The state Department of Health says the child had chronic high-risk conditions that made him vulnerable from complications from the flu.

He died in mid-January. The last previous swine flu death in a New Mexico child occurred in mid-November.
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Well that certainly sounds bad! However, this is an old report from last November and has nothing to do with the current situation in NM.