After 99 children died this year from acute kidney damage, Indonesia has banned the sale of all syrup and liquid medications.
According to the nation’s Food and Drug Monitoring Agency, ethylene glycol was discovered in the suspended medications in quantities that “above the safe limit.”
According to the BBC, 200 cases of AKI in children, the most of whom were under five, had been reported by Indonesian health officials.
“Some syrups that were used by AKI child patients under five were proven to contain ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol that were not supposed to be there, or of very little amount,” Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Indonesia’s Health Minister, said Thursday.
Ethylene glycol, along with diethylene glycol, are typically added as cheap adulterants in propylene glycol, which is used as a solvent in cough syrups. The metabolism of these compounds causes significant liver and kidney damage, according to The Straits Times.
Earlier this month, The World Health Organization issued a global alert over four cough syrups that were linked to the deaths of 66 children in the Gambia.
The organization released the alert for Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup, all made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited in Haryana, India.
The WHO said Maiden failed to provide safety guarantees and respond to quality issues surrounding the products.
“Laboratory analysis of samples of each of the four products confirms that they contain unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants,” the WHO said in a statement.
After the WHO announcement, Maiden was ordered to stop all manufacturing activities.
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