Friends say Ashley Miller, 26, was fit and healthy until struck by swine flu one week ago. (CBC)

Health officials have confirmed the eighth death in B.C. from swine flu, and they say the province is now in the midst of a second wave of the pandemic.

The latest victim is Ashley Miller, 26, of Mission, who died Sunday, two days after she was admitted to Abbotsford Regional Hospital.

All seven previous B.C. swine flu victims had underlying medical conditions that made the flu infection lethally severe, according to the website for the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC). It wasn't yet clear what Miller's health status was.

Miller's friends said she was fit and healthy before becoming ill about a week ago. One friend said her death was very sudden, mysterious and sad.

She leaves behind a one-year-old daughter.

"The investigation is underway to determine the full medical history, but we haven't received a case report yet, so we don't have confirmed information," said Roy Thorpe, spokesman for the Fraser Health Authority.

'Significant rise' in infections

The BCCDC said 78 people in the province have been sent to hospital because of swine flu, and officials are expecting more deaths from the virus.

"We are seeing a significant rise in the number of cases, especially in these past few weeks," BCCDC spokesman Roy Wadia told CBC News.

"It's safe to say that our province is well into our second wave of this flu at this time," Wadia said.

Officials expect the vast majority of swine flu victims will suffer mild to moderate symptoms and not require hospital stays.

A study published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association found a "striking" tendency for severe infection among females, a finding the journal said has not been observed in other studies of the pandemic.

The study found that 67.3 per cent of the 168 patients in the study were female, and the average age was 32.2 years .