BEIJING, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Nearly 10,700 Chinese infants and children were still in hospital after drinking toxic milk and milk formula, the Ministry of Health said.

It last updated the figures on Sept. 21, when it said that 12,892 children were being treated for kidney problems caused by drinking milk tainted with the industrial chemical melamine, which is at the centre of the country's latest food safety scare.

No more infants had died from the contaminated milk, the ministry said on its website, leaving the death toll at four.

Eight of the 10,666 children still in hospital on Wednesday were in serious condition, it said, adding that altogether 36,144 had left the hospital after being treated.

It did not give an overall figure for the number of children affected so far, but reports from local media across the country compiled by Reuters suggest the number of affected children has risen to nearly 94,000. [ID:nPEK111533]

While the number of children in hospital is declining, new cases are still cropping up.

The ministry said that on Wednesday alone, 539 children were admitted to hospital after drinking melamine-laced milk, while 2,067 others checked out after being treated. (Reporting by Jason Subler; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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