Indonesia finds medicines with ingredients linked to fatal child kidney injury

 

Some medicinal syrups available in Indonesia contained ingredients linked to fatal acute kidney injury (AKI) in children, its health minister said on Thursday, as it investigates a spike in cases and 99 child deaths this year. 

Gambia’s government is also investigating child AKI deaths linked to paracetamol syrups after 70 fatalities there. Ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol were detected in syrups found at the homes of some patients, health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said on Thursday, without specifying how many. 

Five out of 26 syrup medications tested by BPOM contained excessive levels of ethylene glycol, the agency said on Thursday. Indonesia has identified 206 AKI child cases of which 99 were fatalities this year.