Deaths of 99 children
Following the deaths of nearly 100 children in Indonesia, the country has halted the sale of all syrup and liquid medication.
It comes just weeks after The Gambia’s cough syrup was linked to the deaths of nearly 70 children.
According to Indonesia, some syrup medicine contained ingredients linked to acute kidney injuries (AKI), which have killed 99 young children this year.
It is unclear whether the medication was imported or manufactured locally.
On Thursday, Indonesian health officials said they had reported approximately 200 cases of AKI in children, the majority of whom were under the age of five.
The WHO discovered that the syrups used there, manufactured by an Indian pharmaceutical company, contained “unacceptably high levels” of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol. According to the organisation, the syrups have been “potentially linked with acute kidney injuries.”
The same chemical compounds were found in some locally used medicines, according to Indonesia’s Health Minister on Thursday.
“Some syrups used by AKI child patients under the age of five were found to contain ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol that were not supposed to be there, or in very small amounts,” Budi Gunadi Sadikin explained.
