By Daniel Martin

A 19-year-old man was confirmed today as the first person in London to die after contracting swine flu.  The teenager, from Lewisham, south London, died on Wednesday after complaining of flu-like symptoms.  It is understood he was already seriously ill with a rare long-term health condition which left him with serious chest infections.  Paramedics took him to Lewisham hospital by ambulance after his family called the emergency services but doctors were unable to save his life and he was confirmed dead on arrival at accident and emergency.

Test results last night confirmed that the teenager was infected with the H1N1 virus and an inquest into his death is now expected to be opened. The young man, who had learning difficulties, is the fourth confirmed swine flu death in Britain and comes amid warnings from the Government that more than 40 Britons a day could die by the end of the summer.

As fears of a major outbreak grew, officials in Hong Kong reported the third known instance of the virus becoming resistant to Tamiflu.

The Government predicts that by the end of August there will be 100,000 new cases a day. If the same one-in-2,500 rate holds, there would be 40 deaths a day.  Sir Liam said the predictions were scientific, but warned the actual figure could be lower – or even higher.   He spoke after Health Secretary Andy Burnham put Britain on epidemic alert.

It also emerged today that eight British school students have been hospitalised in northeast Romania with swine flu.  The group arrived in Romania on June 25th as part of an annual exchange program to work with disabled children in the northeast city of Iasi. The teenagers aged 16-18, are in a group of 19 students and three teachers from the private Sevenoaks School in Kent.

Under new rules announced yesterday, anyone with flu symptoms is advised not to go to their GP for fear of spreading the disease. Instead they should quarantine themselves in their home.  They will have to nominate a ‘flu friend’ to pick up antiviral medicine from drug collection points, and then post them through the letterbox.

Sir Liam also warned the public to avoid panic-buying ‘counterfeit’ anti-swine flu drugs online.  He said there was no need for people to resort to the internet to self-medicate amid fears over the spread.  He said: ‘People shouldn’t buy Tamiflu from the internet. We have got a massive stockpile in this country and everybody can have access to it through the National Health Service.’

His comments came after Mr Burnham warned that the antiviral drug Tamiflu could be rationed to those at greatest risk within a matter of weeks as millions of new cases emerge.

For the first time, GPs have been given discretion to refuse the drug to those with mild cases of flu.  The Government was forced to put emergency measures in place after admitting the virus was now out of control.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1197054/Swine-flu-kill-40-Britons-day-end-summer-says-chief-medical-officer.html