The melamine-contaminated baby formula has so far caused at least three deaths, up from two by Tuesday, China's Ministry of Health said on Wednesday.

The third occurred in southeast Zhejiang Province, Health Minister Chen Zhu told a press conference on Wednesday morning. Chen did not give further detailed information as to the dead infant.

The first two deaths occurred both in the northwest Gansu Province. They were a five-month-old boy who died on May 1 after his family refused further treatment and an eight-month-old girl whose family also refused an operation and removed her from hospital on July 22 on which day she died. Both of the two were bred with the Sanlu formula and suffered kidney failure.

Aside from the three deaths, a total of 6,244 infants were found to have been affected by the milk powder tainted with melamine by 8:00 AM on Wednesday, among which 158 have suffered from acute kidney failure.

4,917 of the infant patients are in stable condition or cured after medical treatment, while the rest of 1,327 patients still remained in hospitals by Wednesday morning.

(Xinhua News Agency September 17, 2008)