The Binh Thuan Department of Health on Monday said the tourist group, from southern Vietnam, stayed at a coastal resort in Phan Thiet. Their trip was organized by a local tour company.
They ate dinner at the Hong Vinh restaurant on Sunday, about 4 km from where they stayed. The menu included oysters, crabs, fish, squids and other food items. The group returned to the hotel to rest at around 9:30 p.m. Some of them went to the beach for a night party, ordering shrimps and other food items.
By Monday morning, some people began to display symptoms like stomachache, nausea and diarrhea. Several were hospitalized. The first case was taken to the Ham Tien medical station in the city at around 7:30 a.m., and more came to the Mui Ne area clinic and the Binh Thuan general hospital.
As of Monday afternoon, 52 had been hospitalized. The initial diagnosis was food poisoning.
All patients were conscious and stable. By the afternoon, 32 people had been discharged, and 20 more are expected to be discharged on Tuesday.
The Binh Thuan health department is verifying information and taking samples to figure out the cause of the incident.
Several cases of mass food poisoning have bene reported in several localities, including Nha Trang, Dong Nai and HCMC, lately. Experts warn of heightened risks of food poisoning due to high temperatures, especially for street food.