A few of hours after attending a wedding party, 79 people from two communes and a town in northern Lao Cai Province developed symptoms of food poisoning, authorities reported. At 8:30 on July 10, the first victims were taken to the health centers in Ban Lau and Lung Vai communes after they suffered belly pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Not long later, many more victims, including those from Muong Khuong Town, were brought to the two centers and also to the Muong Khuong District General Hospital and the Lao Cai Province General Hospital. They all had eaten several dishes including horse’s blood pudding at the wedding party in Ban Lau’s Lang Ha Hamlet.  Dr. Nguyen Ba Hue, director of the Lao Cai Province General Hospital, where 37 poisoned are being treated, said on Wednesday that the dish was the main suspect. Most of the patients have gradually recovered and they may be discharged in three or five days, Dr. Hue said. The same situation has been seen at the Muong Khuong District General Hospital, where 13 other victims are being treated, as well as in the health centers in the two above communes. It is thanks to being hospitalized in time that all the patients have been treated well and they can be discharged in a few days, said Dr Pham Hong Viet, director of the district hospital. After testing the samples of the horse’s blood budding, the provincial Food Safety and Hygiene Sub-department yesterday confirmed that the food was contaminated and caused the poisoning.