Cherie Blair, the wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair, is suffering from suspected H1N1 flu.

Mrs. Blair was forced to cancel several public engagements Thursday as she battles the virus.

A spokesman for Blair said: "She has had to cancel because of a suspected case of swine flu."

Reports from the UK say Blair started feeling unwell at the start of the week, and was diagnosed with suspected swine flu on Tuesday.

Blair was given a course of the anti-viral drug, Tamiflu, and was told to rest.

So far her husband, former prime minister Tony Blair, has not picked up the virus, nor have their four children.

Blair, a lawyer, is the most high profile person in Britain to catch the swine flu.