Fri 21 October 2022:
Following nearly 100 children’s deaths from acute kidney injury this year, the Indonesian government banned all syrup and liquid pharmaceutical prescription and over-the-counter sales on Wednesday.
The ban was imposed as Southeast Asian health officials investigated an unexplained increase in the number of paediatric deaths from acute renal damage since January.
It also follows a controversy involving four cough syrups manufactured in India, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 70 children from AKI in The Gambia earlier this year.
According to the Indonesian food and drug regulator, the syrups brought into The Gambia are not available in the Southeast Asian country.
“As a precaution, the ministry has asked all health workers in health facilities not to prescribe liquid medicine or syrup temporarily… we also asked drug stores to temporarily stop non-prescription liquid medicine or syrup sales until the investigation is completed,” he added.
The increase in AKI cases started in January of this year and has picked up speed since late August, according to the ministry spokesperson, who also noted that an investigation was started last week.
“Since late August 2022, the ministry and the paediatrician association have received increasing reports of acute kidney injury. The jump is sharp,” the spokesperson said.
According to the ministry, the majority of incidents reported in Indonesia involved children under the age of 18, particularly young children under the age of five.
Prior to the recent increase, the ministry had only seen one or two cases of AKI per month.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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