A Dubuque County adult is among the latest fatal victims of the H1N1 influenza.

The Iowa Department of Public Health today reported three additional H1N1-related deaths in Iowa -- bringing the state's death toll to 11, including one child.

"It's certainly a somber event when it hits home," said Mary Rose Corrigan, public health specialist with the city of Dubuque.

The three other recent victims were adults in Polk, Mills and Monona counties.

"It can happen anywhere," Corrigan said. "We all need to remain vigilant."

All but one individual had medical conditions that increased the risk of complications. The Dubuque County victim was among those with an existing medical condition.

Health officials won't release any other information, saying they won't release details that could jeopardize the victims' confidentiality rights.

Otherwise healthy adults are not among the groups most susceptible to fatal complications of H1N1. Instead, people at highest risk -- and the top-priority groups for receiving the vaccine

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-- include children between 6 months and 4 years old, those between 5 and 18 years old with chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems, and pregnant women.

"Basically since many adults aren't in the priority groups to get the vaccine, all adults need to take some common-sense methods to keep themselves healthy," said Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, medical director for the Iowa Department of Public Health. "Stay at least six feet away from people who are sick, make sure you wash hands regularly and ask everyone around you to cough into their elbow. If everybody did that, about 50 percent of the transmission would stop. You don't get the flu out of thin air -- you get it from someone."

Although it has more commonly struck children, Quinlisk said H1N1 is beginning to increase among adults, according to state surveillance reports.

Symptoms of H1N1 influenza are similar to seasonal influenza and include a fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people with H1N1 flu also have diarrhea and vomiting.

Corrigan said more H1N1 vaccine is arriving in Dubuque County. The top-priority groups will receive the vaccine first.

"The vaccine is safe, tested and we encourage people to get it when it becomes available," Corrigan said.

Ann Burds, epidemiologist at Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque, finds it discouraging that some high-risk people have either postponed or cannot decide on receiving a vaccination.

"The disease is very much in our community," Burds said before an H1N1 presentation Wednesday evening at Mercy. "The flu that's out there is H1N1."