Since August, the acute kidney injury (AKI) rate in the Southeast Asian nation has increased, leading to an investigation and a consequent restriction on the sale of all liquid medications.
According to the health ministry’s spokesperson Mohammad Syahril, more than 320 instances of AKI have been reported in provinces across the nation, and 27 people are currently being treated there. Most of the afflicted youngsters are younger than five years old.
The number of deaths has increased from the 133 that were reported on October 21.
According to tests, syrups containing high levels of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol, two substances used in industrial goods like antifreeze, were to blame for the majority of the deaths.
Since then, authorities have been importing an antidote for AKI; 246 vials have been acquired so far; the bulk were given by Singapore and Australia, and the medication has had notable benefits, according to the health ministry.
Five syrups were identified by Indonesia’s national food and drug administration as having dangerously high quantities of hazardous ingredients, and the agency ordered that the goods be taken off the market and destroyed.
Three regional pharmaceutical firms are the subject of a police inquiry, and two of them have temporarily lost their authorization to make syrup medications.
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