The Indonesian government has imposed a ban on the prescription of all syrup and liquid medicine and over-the-counter sales after the deaths of nearly 100 children from acute kidney injury in 2022.
Indian authorities have launched a probe over an unexplained surge in the number of children’s deaths from acute kidney injury (AKI) since January this year.
“We have received 206 reported cases from 20 provinces with 99 deaths,” Muhammad Syahril Mansyur told a press briefing. Mansyur is an official spokesperson for the health ministry.
“As a precaution, the ministry has asked all health workers not to prescribe liquid medicine or syrup temporarily … we also directed drug stores to temporarily stop non-prescription liquid medicine or syrup sales until the investigation is completed,” he said.
The rise in childhood AKI fatalities in Indonesia comes as The Gambia’s government probes the death of 70 children from AKI linked to paracetamol syrups used to treat fever, which contained excessive levels of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, in a scandal linked to four Indian-made cough syrups.
