PIERRE - The South Dakota Department of Health says South Dakota has recorded its first swine flu death.

The department said the patient was a Shannon County resident in the 40-49 age group who had underlying health conditions.

The department said the victim's name and other details can't be released due to state confidentiality statutes. But the kinds of conditions that increase risk for flu complications are things such as diabetes, renal disease, chronic pulmonary diseases (such as asthma), cardiovascular disease (but not hypertension) and neuromuscular disease, health department spokeswoman Barb Buhler said.

South Dakota has reported 191 lab-confirmed cases of H1N1 flu and 25 hospitalizations since the start of the 2009-2010 flu season.

The state health department has ordered its first batch of the new H1N1 vaccine and expects to receive the initial shipment the week of Oct. 4. A state health official said only a small number of doses, about 5,000, will be in the first shipment, but more doses will be ordered and shipped each week after that.

The first shipment will be distributed to hospitals so they can begin vaccinating health care workers as a first line of defense against H1N1.

"Health care workers are at high risk for the flu because of their close contact with infected people," said state Secretary of Health Doneen Hollingsworth. "It's essential that they are among the first vaccinated so we can assure a healthy work force that's able to take care of the ill."

The initial shipment will be the nasal spray vaccine, which can only be given to healthy individuals between the ages of 2 and 49. It is not recommended for pregnant women.

As more doses come in, they will be given to other priority groups for vaccination: pregnant women, young children, parents and caregivers for infants younger than 6 months, and children with chronic health conditions. The vaccine will be offered to these target groups through department community health offices, private clinics and community clinics.

Federal health officials expect 186 million doses of H1N1 vaccine in the United States by January 2010, a total well above the number of doses given during any normal flu season.

"There should be more than enough vaccine for everyone who wants it - we need to take care of the high risk groups first, and the rest of us just need to be patient and wait until a little later in the season," Hollingsworth said.

Where to go?

Flu clinics will be listed on the department's Web site: http://h1n1.sd.gov.