HANOI, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Acute diarrhea has spread to 11 localities in Vietnam's northern and central regions, affecting 1,011 people since Oct. 23, local newspaper Pioneer reported Tuesday.

    On Monday alone, 115 people were admitted to hospitals due to infecting the disease, the paper quoted a report of the country's Health Ministry.

    Of the localities, including Hanoi capital city, northern Hai Phong city, the northern provinces of Hai Duong, Ha Tay, Hung Yen, Thai Binh and Bac Ninh, and central Nghe An province, Hanoi sees the biggest number of acute diarrhea cases.

    Most of the patients ate unsafe food such as raw shrimp paste and seafood salad.

    To prevent the disease's spread, the ministry has asked relevant agencies and people to focus on monitoring food hygiene, disinfecting areas housing patients, and suspending use of raw shrimp paste in processing food.

    Earlier, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung required local relevant agencies and people to take drastic measures to eliminate acute diarrhea as soon as possible.