An outbreak of A/H1N1 flu in southern Mexico states of Yucatan and Chiapas has triggered alarm in local residents who are pressing the government to take more actions against the virus.

During Tuesday's parliament session, deputies asked the government to take immediate actions against the rising number of cases across the nation, which are taking place much earlier than the expected winter flu season.

The number of confirmed cases in Chiapas has reached 2,694, up from 1,510 at the beginning of the month, increasing 78 percent. The confirmed cases in Yucatan have surged from 860 to 2,088, increasing 242 percent. Eleven deaths were also reported in the two regions during the period.

Responding to widespread public unease, Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordoba Villalobos told media that the outbreak is not out of control, the number of new hospitalizations is declining and those who are seriously ill are recovering.

"All that is happening in the south is that its turn came up," said Malaquias Lopez Cervantes, head of socio-medical research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. "A chain of transmission had not been established in the south until now," he explained.

"The measures they took were clearly not enough to contain the outbreak," Cervantes said, "However they do seem to be treating the sick much more effectively."

Mexico's much-criticized decentralization policy in the 1990s has also played a part in the spread of the epidemic, he said.

"We have the resources and abilities to manage the epidemic, but coordination between states and municipalities must be improved, to ensure we are not overtaken by events and caught off guard by nasty surprises," he said.

On Tuesday, the Mexican Health Ministry said that the nation now has 16,091 confirmed flu cases, up from 14,861 a week earlier, and that there are now 142 confirmed flu deaths, from 138 a week earlier. Chiapas and Yucatan have replaced Mexico City to be the most infected regions.

(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2009)