- Francis Mao
- BBC News
Indonesia says it has imposed a temporary ban on the sale and use of all types of syrup and liquid medicine
The deaths of nearly 100 children in Indonesia prompted the country to halt sales of all oral liquid medicine.
The decision comes just weeks following the cough syrup was linked to the deaths of nearly 70 children in The Gambia.
Indonesia said some syrups were found to contain ingredients linked to acute kidney injury, which has killed 99 children this year.
It is not clear whether this drug was imported or locally produced.
On Thursday, Indonesian health authorities said they had reported regarding 200 cases of acute kidney injury among children, most of whom were under the age of five.
Earlier this month, the World Health Organization issued a global alert regarding four types of cough syrup linked to the deaths of nearly 70 children in The Gambia.
The World Health Organization found that the cough syrups used there – which are manufactured by an Indian pharmaceutical company – contained “unacceptable amounts” of DEG and ethylene glycol. The international organization said these types of drinks were “probably associated with acute kidney injury”.
The Indonesian health minister said Thursday that the same chemical compounds were also found in some medicines used locally.
Budi Gunadi Sadikin said, “Some of the syrup medicines given to children with acute kidney injury who are under the age of five have been proven to contain ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol, which are supposed to be absent or present in trace amounts.”
But the minister did not disclose the number of cases linked to toxic drugs.
Indonesian authorities said the cough syrup used in Gambia was not sold locally.
An epidemiologist said the true death toll may be higher than the reported figure.
“When cases like this happen,[what we know]is just the tip of the iceberg, which means there might be more victims,” Dickie Bodeman, an epidemiologist from Griffith University, told BBC Indonesia.
The Indonesian authorities have yet to disclose the brand names or types of syrups associated with sick children – instead imposing a temporary ban on sales and prescriptions of all syrups and liquid medicines.