Vietnam reports 16.7 pct rise in food poisoning cases in 5 months

Vietnam registered 42 serious food poisoning cases which affected 1,898 people, of whom 10 died, from January to May, while the respective figures were 36, 1,064 and 10 in the same period last year, the country's General Statistics Office announced Monday.

Last month, 824 people in Vietnam suffered in 10 food poisoning cases which claimed no lives. The country saw 10 food poisoning cases which affected 234 people, including three fatalities in May 2014.

Vietnam detected 16,100 foot-and-mouth disease patients, 10,900 dengue fever cases and no new infections of bird flu virus A/H5N1 in the first five months of this year, the General Statistics Office said, noting that the country reported 20,800 cases of foot- and-mouth disease, 9,000 dengue fever and two A/H5N1 infections in the same period last year.

Vietnam detected 1,800 HIV carriers in May, raising the total to 225,400, of whom 76,900 have become AIDS patients, the office announced. To date, 78,600 people in the country have died of AIDS- related causes. Endi