MONTREAL - Quebec's public health department has confirmed a second person in the province has died after contracting the H1N1 flu virus.

Health officials said today the latest victim was a Montreal man in his 40s who was already suffering from a separate illness.

They also confirmed 131 new cases of the swine flu in Quebec, which brings the total number of people infected in the province since April to 833.

Twelve more people have been hospitalized, bringing the total to 118.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says just over five per cent of the people confirmed to have swine flu in this country have been treated in hospital, and estimates a quarter of those hospitalized had an underlying medical condition.

Five people across Canada have now died after contracting swine flu.