There is a dramatic increase in the number showed by China for children who got illnesses due to dairy products tainted with melamine. The new figures suggest that these numbers as 294,000 that are five times higher than the original figure.

Similarly, death of three was confirmed because of the tainted milk, but now a statement from the Chinese health ministry shows that death toll may be of six because of poisoned milk consumption.

These updated figures suggest that the problem was even worse than what the Chinese govt. had been acknowledging for months, as it announced in September that 53,000 babies got illnesses due to tainted milk.

Melamine is used in making plastic, but in September it was found that the chemical was mixed in milk powder to make it look rich in protein content.

The Chinese health ministry told that there were 294,000 tainted-milk related illnesses and most of them had to suffer from urinary tract diseases and 51,900 in them got hospital treatment.

The ministry also told that 861 children were kept in hospital and 154 among them had a serious condition.

During September, when news broke about these illnesses, the scandal became a worldwide issue and in many countries around the world China’s dairy products were banned or recalled as they were found tainted with melamine.