The children, mostly toddlers and preschoolers, developed a high fever after they were being injected with glucose at a hospital for women and children in the provincial capital Fuzhou on Tuesday afternoon.

Fourteen-month-old Meng Meng was in hospital for diarrhea, but twitched and shivered under her quilt after an injection of glucose and antibiotics, said her father, surnamed Feng. "I began to suspect they might have used the wrong medicine."

Feng found out later that another 11 children suffered the same effects. "I heard doctors whispering whether the 'new drug' was to blame," he said.

Hospital spokesman Ma Quan said the glucose, in 250-millimeter bottles, was produced by Juneng Lesi Pharmaceutical Industry Co. based in Wenzhou, a manufacturing town in the eastern Zhejiang Province.

He said it was the first time the hospital had used that specific medication. "We bought the medication through government procurement procedures and this company won the bid."

The children were under observation Tuesday night, and had recovered by Wednesday morning, said Ma.

The food and drug authority in Fuzhou has recalled 7,000 bottles of the glucose injection, banned the Wenzhou company's brand on the local market and reported the incident to Ministry of Health.

Meanwhile, samples of the glucose, as well as all other medications the children had received, were sent for testing.

A spokesman with the Fujian provincial health department said results of the investigation would probably be available in around 10 days.

The case has added to China's growing food and drug safety woes, represented by the recent melamine-tainted milk that caused thousands of infant kidney stones cases, and two herbal injections that were suspected to have led to four deaths, including a 9-day-old baby.