One more person died from the new A/H1N1 strain of swine flu in the last 24 hours in Mexico City, while 41 people were hospitalized, bringing the total number of patients in city hospitals to 115, said local officials on Wednesday.

"The number of cases of inflection is trending towards stabilization," Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon told a press conference. Deaths have fallen from five on Sunday, to three on Monday and one on Tuesday.

The city has been urging those with flu-like symptoms to seek medical help immediately, as those who have died have been those who waited too long before seeking medication. City workers have handed out nearly 1.1 million face masks on public transport, and are urging residents to wash their hands frequently in a bid to halt the spread of the virus.

"None of the measures we have applied is popular, that is not what we are seeking. (Instead) we are seeking effectiveness," Ebrard added.

Business owners have complained of losing large amounts of money due to the city's anti-influenza measures which include the closure of bars, theaters, gymnasiums, arts centers and cinemas. Restaurants were ordered to only serve takeaway food.

A total of 17 people were discharged from city hospitals on Tuesday, Armando Ahued Ortega, head of the city's health department, told the same press conference. He said that 346 people with swine flu symptoms were in treatment on Wednesday, which represents a break from a declining trend. Some 320 were in treatment on Tuesday, 326 on Monday and 351 on Sunday.

Ahued said that the city's clinics have treated nearly 40,000 people, of whom nearly 25,000 had some signs of respiratory illness.

Swine flu symptoms include headaches, a sudden rise in body temperature, breathing difficulties, and muscular pain. The virus can live for as much as four hours on an exposed surface, and infects people by entering via eyes, nose or mouth.

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2009)