Asian tourists wear face masks to protect themselves against the risk of contracting swine flu Getty Images

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A LONDONER has contracted the killer swine flu virus, Gordon Brown revealed today.

Speaking at Prime Minster’s Question Time, he said the victim had recently returned from Mexico but was believed to be suffering from "mild symptoms".

The 22-year-old south London man is among three cases in England confirmed today, including 31-year-old woman in Redditch and a 12-year-old girl in Torbay, Devon.

Brown said the girl’s school had been closed and her classmates offered anti-viral drugs.

He did not disclose where the Londoner was being treated.

The first two confirmed patients, Iain and Dawn Askham, of Polmont, near Falkirk, had been on honeymoon in Mexico.

The three new cases, who had also recently travelled to Mexico, were displaying mild symptoms.

The girl was on the same flight back to the UK as the Askhams.

At a press conference at the Department of Health in central London, Health Secretary Alan Johnson said the girl's school, Paignton Community College, was closing for seven days.

He said the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in Devon identified that the girl had been in close contact with 50 fellow pupils and others.

Anti-virals have been given to 230 pupils - the whole of her school year - as a precautionary measure.

"The little girl involved is doing fine, as are the other two men," Johnson said.

He said the advice was that schools and children's services should continue to operate as normal.

The crisis dramatically escalated today as swine flu claimed its first fatality outside Mexico, increasing fears the virus could turn into a global pandemic.

A 23-month-old toddler died in Texas, just over the border from the central American country.

A US government official said the Texan toddler died from the new H1N1 strain of swine flu. Dr Richard Besser, of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, added: "As a parent and a paediatrician my heart goes out to the family."

He added: "We’re going to find more severe cases and I expect that we’ll continue to see additional deaths."

Until today, US officials had said the 65 cases reported in six states were mild.

President Barack Obama has written to Congress to ask for an extra £1bn to fight the outbreak and to help build up stockpiles of anti-flu drugs. California’s Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency.

The World Health Organisation alert remains at "phase four", indicating clusters of outbreaks and that the disease is being passed from person to person.

In the event of a pandemic, the alert will be raised to phase six but Johnson said it was "very clear we are not at that stage yet".

"We've been preparing for this situation for the last five years," he said.

Stockpiles of anti-viral drugs, currently enough to cover 33 million people, are being increased to provide for 50 million people.

Johnson said evidence showed the provision of face masks to the public would do nothing to prevent the spread of the disease.

But he said NHS frontline staff would be provided with special surgical masks with filters.

"To keep the public informed, a mass public health campaign will begin tomorrow, with print, TV and radio adverts," he said.

"The adverts will warn the public about swine flu and remind people to cover their noses and mouths with tissues and then throw the tissue away."

He said the message was to "catch it, bin it, kill it".

An information leaflet will be posted through people's doors on Tuesday.