BOISE -- Idaho public health officials say the swine flu virus has contributed to a second death in the state, this time a teenage boy from eastern Idaho.
The Department of Health and Welfare confirmed the death Wednesday of a teenager from Bannock County.
Although swine flu -- referred by scientists as the H1N1 virus -- was a factor in the death, the victim also had one or more conditions that created an elevated risk for the virus.
Conditions that heighten risk for children, teens and people under age 24 include asthma, diabetes or chronic neural conditions such as cerebral palsy and epilepsy.
Agency spokesman Tom Shanahan says people with those risk factors become more susceptible to flu symptoms.
Idaho's first death linked to swine flu was reported in September involving a Canyon County man in his 50s.
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