Due to the deaths of nearly 100 children in Indonesia, all syrup and liquid pharmaceutical sales have been suspended.
It comes only a few weeks after a cough syrup in The Gambia was linked to the deaths of nearly seventy youngsters.
Indonesia reported that several syrup medicines were discovered to contain components associated with acute kidney injury (AKI), which had killed 99 infants this year.
It is unclear whether the drug was imported or created locally.
On Thursday, Indonesian health officials recorded over 200 cases of AKI in youngsters, the majority of whom were under the age of five.
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a global alert earlier this month regarding four cough syrups linked to the deaths of over 70 children in The Gambia.
The World Health Organization discovered that syrups produced by an Indian pharmaceutical company contained “unacceptable” levels of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol. According to the organization, the syrups have been “possibly connected with acute kidney damage.”
The Minister of Health of Indonesia stated on Thursday that the same chemical compounds were also detected in certain locally used medications.
Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated, “Some syrups used by AKI patients under the age of five were found to include ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol that was not supposed to be there, or in extremely small amounts.”
However, he did not provide the number of cases involving dangerous medications.
According to Indonesian officials, cough syrups used in The Gambia are not available domestically.
According to one researcher, the actual mortality toll may be significantly greater than stated.
Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist from Griffith University, told, “When cases like these occur, [all we know is] the tip of the iceberg, which means there could be far more victims.”
The Indonesian government has not identified the brands or types of syrup medicines that have been related to the illness of children; instead, they have temporarily banned the sale and prescription of all syrup and liquid medicines.
