Edition 22: Cough Syrup Causes Fatal Kidney Failures Among Children
Cough Syrup Causes Fatal Kidney Failures Among Children
Source: Unsplash
Cases of atypical acute kidney injury (AKI) in infants are rising, with 241 cases and 133 fatalities confirmed in children across 22 provinces over the past 10 months. The Ministry of Health said that the death toll could be much higher as the death rate from the medical issue is now close to 50%.
The deaths are linked to syrup-based medicine contaminated with ethylene glycol, a dangerous chemical usually found in antifreeze.
The reports came days after a World Health Organization investigation found that an Indian-made cough syrup contaminated with the same chemical caused the deaths of 70 children in West Africa. However, India’s drug regulatory body disputed the findings.
An early investigation by an expert team at the Ministry of Health found traces of ethylene glycol in medicines that had been consumed by children before they displayed signs of unusual acute kidney injury (AKI)
A further examination done by the Indonesian Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) said that from 26 different syrup-based medicines tested, five were shown to have dangerous levels of ethylene glycol. The agency explained that the chemicals were possibly linked to four additives that are not dangerous.
The affected brands are: Termorex Sirup, Flurin DMP Sirup, Unibebi Cough Sirup, Unibebi Demam Sirup, and Unibebi Demam Drops.
The drugs are currently only suspected of being the cause of the disease, but the distribution of these drugs have been halted temporarily.
The government has taken direct action by banning all prescription and over-the-counter sales of all syrup-based medicine. The Ministry of Health pointed the finger at big pharma for the poor quality of solvents used in medicinal syrups causing the cases of kidney failures.
Many are calling for more action by BPOM to tighten food and drug safety in Indonesia after the incident. It hasn’t been the first case of contaminated food and drugs in Indonesia, such as the 2020 enoki mushroom listeria outbreak and the 2018 albothyl recall.
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