HO CHI MINH CITY, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam witnessed 77 food poisoning cases between January and August, which sickened 2,214 people and killed 17, its Preventive Health Department said Friday.

In August alone, the country faced 13 food poisoning cases which affected 276 local people.

Vietnam saw 92 food poisoning cases which sickened 2,896 people and claimed eight lives in the first eight months of last year.

In the first eight months of this year, the country detected 80,600 dengue fever patients, including 22 fatalities, nearly 43,200 foot-and-mouth disease cases, and 495 viral encephalitis sufferers, and 28 Zika patients.

Vietnam currently has 219,900 HIV carriers, of whom 91,000 have become AIDS patients, the department said. To date, some 91,900 people in the country have died of AIDS-related diseases.