Mexico's Health Ministry on Thursday reported three new deaths from the new strain of A/H1N1 flu in a statement that also raised the total of those infected to 9,028, up 749 cases since the last report.

Documents released with the statement showed that the disease was spreading fast in the southeastern state of Yucatan, which now has 913 confirmed cases, up 230 from the last published report.

Earlier this week, the ministry said the Yucatan state government had closed schools where the disease had been confirmed in a bit to halt contagion.

A teacher hands out disinfectant as schoolchildren wearing surgical masks attend class at an elementary school in Mexico City May 11, 2009.[Xinhua/Reuters]

Although Mexico City has the largest number of cases, or a total of 2,085, the number only increased by 25 since the last report.

The ministry urged residents to visit their doctors as soon as possible if they present any flu-like symptoms, including muscular pain, headaches, a sudden increase in temperature and excess nasal mucus. The virus can be treated with standard anti-viral medicines and is unlikely to be fatal if it is caught within the first five days of infection.

The United States, with 21,449 cases, remains the world's most infected nation. The disease, first identified in Mexico on April 23, has now spread to 108 countries or regions and infected 57,047 people.

(Xinhua News Agency June 26, 2009)