HEALTH minister Simon Hamilton has been asked to detail the dangers to the public of the current outbreak of swine flu across Northern Ireland.
A man with underlying health problems - who was one of seven with the H1N1 virus being treated in intensive care units - died in Craigavon Hospital last week.
The Irish News understands two people remain critically ill in the same hospital.
It comes after a child died of swine flu in a Dublin hospital and the Republic's Health and Safety Executive warning that the outbreak on that side of the border is not expected to peak for up to another week.
According to the Public Health Agency (PHA), seven people died of the flu virus between September and the end of January.
It is thought that the latest death brings this number to eight, but the PHA will not confirm which strain the virus they were suffering from.
After learning of the death, SDLP South Down assembly member Karen McKevitt asked on Monday night that Speaker Mitchel McLaughlin consider an urgent oral question for the health minister on the issue.
It was not accepted and instead the minister has been asked a written question which he is expected to respond to later this week.
Ms McKevitt said the public "need information" about the extent of the outbreak which in the last month alone has left 40 people in intensive care care in hospitals across the north - 36 of whom were suffering from swine flu.
"There were hundreds of thousands of pounds invested in the last outbreak, advice was given to the public to make them aware of the particular groups that were most vulnerable," she said.
"Did that work? Is more needed now? People are seriously ill in hospital."
On Tuesday, the PHA again urged people in `at risk' groups, or who are otherwise eligible, to get the winter flu vaccine, with a warning about the "deadly dangers" associated the virus.
"As in previous years, influenza H1N1 (often known as `swine flu') is one of the strains of flu circulating this flu season, but it is covered by the free vaccine which is being offered," a spokesman said.
However, he stressed that most recent statistics do not indicate a serious epidemic in the north.
The latest figure put the incidence at 31.7 per 100,000 people reporting to doctors with flu-like illness, "substantially below" the epidemic threshold which is measured at 49.4 per 100,000 population.
