A TWO YEAR old boy from the Republic who was suffering from swine flu has died in Northern Ireland.

The toddler was being treated in an intensive care unit north of the border, according to the North’s Public Health Agency. At the request of the infant’s parents, no other details of the case will be released, the BBC reports.

Northern Ireland’s Health Minister Michael McGimpsey has extended his condolences to the boy’s family.

It is not known if the boy had an underlying health condition. A total of 18 people have died in Northern Ireland this year after contracting the H1N1 virus; two of these people were confirmed to have no underlying health condition.

Those in high risk groups have been urged to avail of vaccines available. McGimpsey said that after consultation with UK health ministers and with the Republic’s Minister for Health Mary Harney, no recommendation to extend the vaccine outside risk groups has been decided upon, reports the Belfast Telegraph.