1,300 babies still hospitalized from tainted milk

updated 4:34 p.m. ET Nov. 12, 2008

BEIJING - A state news agency reports that 1,272 infants are still hospitalized in China with illnesses stemming from baby formula contaminated with chemicals.

Xinhua News Agency cited the Ministry of Health as saying two of the babies were in serious condition.

China's latest product safety scandal involves dairy products tainted with the industrial chemical melamine. It was apparently added to raw milk to fool protein-level tests. Large doses of melamine can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure.

Baby formula contaminated with melamine has been blamed for killing four infants and sickening more than 50,000.Xinhua said Wednesday that the number of hospitalized infants was down from 2,390 two weeks ago. No new deaths were reported.

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