Following the deaths of over 100 children and an unexplained increase in severe renal damage, Indonesia has banned the sale of all syrup and liquid medications.
The country’s Health Ministry imposed a ban on Wednesday that will last until authorities finish investigating unlicensed medical syrups that may contain harmful substances.
According to Mohammad Syahril, a spokesman for the health ministry, 206 cases of acute renal injuries in children, the majority of whom were under the age of 6, and 99 deaths were being investigated.
As a precaution, the ministry has asked health workers in health facilities not to prescribe liquid medicine or syrup temporarily,” he said.
“We also ask that drug stores temporarily stop all sales of non-prescription liquid medicine or syrup until our investigations are completed.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) imposed the ban after discovering a link between four cough syrups made in India and up to 70 infants who died of acute kidney failure in The Gambia, West Africa. Earlier this month, Indian authorities shut down a plant in New Delhi that manufactured the medications.
Promethazine oral solution, Kofexmalin baby cough syrup, Makoff baby cough syrup, and Magrip N cold syrup are all suspected of containing “unacceptable amounts” of chemicals that could harm consumers’ brains, lungs, livers, and kidneys. Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited created these four syrups.
The syrups used in The Gambia, according to Indonesia’s food and pharmaceutical regulator, are not available there.
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