First British swine flu death without other issues

A patient at a hospital in southern England has become the first person in Britain without underlying health problems to die from swine flu, officials said Friday.

The patient died at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital in Essex, health authorities said, adding the individual's family had requested that no further details be released.Fourteen other people have died in Britain after contracting swine flu, but they all had underlying health problems.

Although the nature of these conditions has not been revealed, Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson has said people who suffer breathing problems or are clinically obese are at high risk.The government said Wednesday that 9,718 cases of swine flu had been confirmed in Britain since the disease reached the country in late April.

It said last week that Britain could soon face more than 100,000 cases a day if the current rate of infection is maintained.

-AFP