A SOUTH LONDON teenager has become the first person to die from swine flu in the capital.

The 19-year-old, from Lewisham, had serious underlying health problems, officials said. He died on Wednesday and tests afterwards found he had the virus.

He is the fourth person to die from swine flu in the UK, and his death follows warnings that 40 Britons a day could die by the end of the summer as the virus spreads out of control.

It is expected the number of cases could soar to 100,000 a day by the end of August.

A statement from NHS London said: “It is with ­sadness that we have to ­announce the death of a ­patient in London who has subsequently tested positive for H1N1 swine flu. The 19-year-old male from south London had serious underlying health problems.”

"It is with ­sadness that we have to ­announce the death of a ­patient in London who has subsequently tested positive for H1N1 swine flu. The 19-year-old male from south London had serious underlying health problems"

London was already one of the country’s hotspots for the disease, with 1,939 confirmed cases. Outbreaks had been confirmed at the Topshop flagship store on Oxford Street, Alleyn’s School in Dulwich and a Waitrose supermarket at Canary Wharf.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham has put Britain on epidemic alert after admitting the virus was out of control. And chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson pleaded with the public to avoid panic-buying “counterfeit” anti-swine flu drugs online.

He said Britain had a massive stockpile of Tamiflu and would be one of the first countries to have access to a new vaccine, with the ­supplies arriving at the end of August.

Donaldson told GMTV: “People shouldn’t buy Tamiflu from the internet. Everybody can have access to it through the NHS.”

He added he was “surprised” health services had controlled the virus for as long as they had.

The first case in Britain was recorded in April. At least 337 people have died worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation. Britain has officially reported 7,447 cases so far.