The second person to die in Hawaii who tested positive for the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, was a man in his late 40s who died Friday at The Queen's Medical Center, a state health spokeswoman said today.

The man who died had chronic, underlying health conditions, said Janice Okubo, spokeswoman for the state Department of Health. Privacy laws prevented her from saying what the pre-existing health conditions were.
“But the influenza led to complications that ultimately caused his death,” Okubo said.
The latest swine flu victim had no history of recent travel outside of the state, meaning he apparently contracted the virus locally, Okubo said.
Hawaii’s first swine flu victim, a woman in her late 60s, died June 19 at Tripler Army Medical Center. She, too, had multiple, serious health problems.
“In this most recent case, influenza infection led to the complications that were ultimately the cause of death, and the patient’s underlying conditions likely exacerbated the situation,” said Dr. Sarah Park, chief of the Disease Outbreak Control Division and State Epidemiologist.
Cases of novel H1N1 influenza have been identified on the islands of O‘ahu, Maui, Hawai‘i, Kaua‘i, and Moloka‘i with the majority of cases confirmed on O‘ahu, where the majority of the state’s population resides. The DOH has recently seen a rise in influenza-like illness rates and has issued guidance to summer camp administrators on ways to prevent the spread of illness. The guidance is posted at www.hawaii.gov/health.
The DOH has confirmed more than 1,000 cases of novel H1N1 since May 5 to July 10, 2009. Of these cases, all but four have recovered or are recovering at home with no complications. One adult resident was hospitalized on O‘ahu in June and has since recovered; one adult that resides on Maui became ill after traveling to Washington state in May, was hospitalized and recovered in Washington before returning home; and two deaths occurred on O‘ahu as a result of complications from the flu.
As of Friday, the number of confirmed swine flu cases in the United States stood at 37,246 resulting in 211 deaths. That’s up from cumulative totals of 33,902 confirmed cases and 170 deaths the week before.
As of Friday, there were 722 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus in Hawaii, an increase of 106 cases from the week before.
On Saturday, the World Health Organization (WHO) signaled that a global pandemic of novel influenza A (H1N1) was under way by raising the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 6. This action was a reflection of the spread of the new H1N1 virus, not the severity of illness caused by the virus. At the time, more than 70 countries had reported cases of novel influenza A (H1N1) infection and there were ongoing community level outbreaks of novel H1N1 in multiple parts of the world.
Since the WHO declaration of a pandemic, the new H1N1 virus has continued to spread, with the number of countries reporting cases of novel H1N1 nearly doubling.
The Southern Hemisphere’s regular influenza season has begun and countries there are reporting that the new H1N1 virus is spreading and causing illness along with regular seasonal influenza viruses, the WHO said.
In the United States, significant novel H1N1 illness has continued into the summer, with localized and in some cases intense outbreaks occurring. The United States continues to report the largest number of novel H1N1 cases of any country worldwide, however, most people who have become ill have recovered without requiring medical treatment.