BEIJING — More than 10,000 children remained hospitalized after being sickened in China's tainted milk scandal, eight of whom were in serious condition, officials said.

The Health Ministry said in a statement on its Web site Wednesday 10,666 children were in hospitals after drinking milk powder contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, which can lead to kidney stones and possibly life-threatening kidney failure.

No new deaths have been recorded, it said. The scandal has so far been blamed for the deaths of four babies and the sickening of about 54,000 others in China.