HANOI, July 1 (Xinhua) -- In the first half of this year, 866 people in Vietnam suffered from food poisoning, of whom five died, the country's Preventive Health Department said on Monday.

In the same period last year, 923 people were affected by food poisoning, of whom six died.

From January to June, Vietnam spotted 70,800 dengue fever patients, including three fatalities; nearly 18,900 hand-foot-and-mouth disease cases, including two deaths; and 255 viral encephalitis sufferers, including 10 fatalities.

Vietnam currently has 209,400 HIV carriers, of whom 96,500 have become AIDS patients, the department said.