Almost 13 000 infants in China have been taken to hospital after falling ill from drinking tainted milk powder, the health ministry said on Sunday, according to state media.

The ministry said in a briefing on the crisis that the total number of babies admitted to hospital after drinking poisoned formula was now 12 892, according to Xinhua news agency.

Four babies have died after drinking milk powder contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical, according to government statements, in the latest in a string of health scandals to tarnish Chinese-made goods.

There were 104 cases in which babies showed serious symptoms, said the ministry, and 1579 babies had been cured and left hospital, Xinhua said.

AFP