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 the 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. There were 104 cases in which babies showed serious symptoms, said the ministry, and 1,579 babies had been cured and left hospital, Xinhua said. Meanwhile, Chinese leaders and health authorities were battling to contain the scandal as the first sickness from the crisis was reported outside mainland China. Thousands of infants became sick, but no illnesses had been reported elsewhere until the Hong Kong government said a three-year-old girl had been diagnosed with a kidney stone after drinking milk containing melamine. The girl was diagnosed with a kidney stone but was in good condition and has been discharged from the hospital, the government said in a statement on Saturday night. The girl