HANOI, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Acute diarrhea has spread to 20 cities and provinces across Vietnam since early March, affecting 2,490 people, of whom 377 have been tested positive to cholera virus, according to local newspaper People on Wednesday.

    Hanoi capital is hardest hit with 1,032 acute diarrhea infection cases, followed by northern Ha Tay province with 691 cases, the paper quoted the Vietnamese Ministry of Health as reporting.

    The country's health sector has conducted effective treatment to ensure no fatalities from the disease, said the World Health Organization (WHO) Chief Representative in Vietnam Jean-Marc Olive.

    He has urged the government to take measures to ensure food safety in order to eliminate the disease's current outbreak.

    However, the WHO has warned high risk of an outbreak in the country in the upcoming rainy season.