Shillong, Aug 11 - A 17-year-old footballer, S. Tongber, from Meghalaya Tuesday tested positive for H1N1 virus, marking the first swine flu case in the northeast.

A health department spokesperson said the boy was admitted to Shillong Civil Hospital Aug 8 following complaints of cough and cold.

'Laboratory tests confirmed that the boy was H1N1 positive,' the health official said.

The boy had returned from Britain recently and complained of swine flu like symptoms soon after his return.

'He was in the UK to attend a football training camp,' a family member of Tongber said.

'He has been kept at an isolation ward now and is being treated as per norms,' the health official said.