HANOI, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Eighty-one people in Vietnam died of rabies in the first eight months of this year, local newspaper Vietnam Economic Times reported Monday.

    Most of the victims were from the northern provinces of Tuyen Quang, Phu Tho, Ha Tay and Yen Bai, the paper quoted Vietnamese Deputy Health Minister Trinh Quan Huan as saying.

    Vietnam has annually reported 80 fatalities due to rabies since2004, up from only 34 in 2003.

    Nearly 5.9 million people in Vietnam have been bitten by rabies-infected dogs or cats in the last 10 years, much higher than the figure in the pre-1996 period, according to the ministry.

    Vietnam, with a population of some 85 million, is encouraging vaccinations among people and dogs in a bid to contain the disease by 2010 and eradicate it by 2015.