Lonodn - A man who appeared in British adverts telling people how to avoid swine flu has gone down with the virus himself, he admitted Friday.

Actor David McCusker, 30, who is seen sneezing in a lift and spreading germs in the television spots fell victim to the very same virus, newspapers reported.

"I was supposed to 'Catch it. Bin it. Kill it'," he said, reprising the advert's slogan. "But instead, I've been shivering, shaking and spreading it," he said, according to The Sun.

"It was a shock when I found out. I quarantined myself to sweat it out. I've been getting lots of stick from mates.

"I caught it, didn't bin it and spread it all over the place," he added.

The Health Protection Agency said Thursday that the number of deaths in England linked to swine flu increased from 27 to 36 in the previous week.

However, there were 30,000 new cases of swine flu in England over the past seven days, compared to 110,000 cases in the previous week, and the majority of infections continued to be "mild", the HPA said.