The Alabama Department of Public Health was notified this week about the death of a man in his 50s from Cherokee County, Ala., who tested positive for 2009 H1N1 influenza, also called "swine flu." This brings the total number of deaths of persons with H1N1 influenza in Alabama to 17.

Last month, the Dalton Daily Citizen reported that a 7-year-old girl in Whitfield County died from illness related to swine flu.

The Floyd County Health Department has been administering nasal spray vaccines to toddlers ages 2-4, and local health officials said last week that an injectible version of the vaccine should be readily available by mid-November.