Contaminated: baby milk

Chinese officials have ordered an all-out effort to save babies made ill by contaminated milk products.

A cabinet statement said all affected children should get free check-ups and treatment and called for more screening in remote areas. Four children have died and more than 6,000 are ill owing to milk products contaminated with melamine, a chemical used to make plastics. Panicked parents have crowded hospitals and demanded redress since last week's announcement that babies had developed kidney stones after drinking milk made from the contaminated powder. More than 150 are said to have acute kidney failure.

"Some officials have ignored public opinion and turned a blind eye to people's hardships, and even major issues that concern the lives of the masses of people," China Daily quoted President Hu Jintao as saying.