Dangerous cough syrup appears in Indonesia, leads to kidney failure in children

Coughs that lead to acute kidney failure in children have also been sold in Indonesia, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin reported.

Yesterday, it was announced that 74 Indonesian children died this year of kidney failure, most of them children under the age of five. It was suspected that this was the result of a cough syrup containing a very high content of the dangerous substances diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol.

Several cough medicines from the Indian company Maidan Pharmaceuticals have led to this 66 deaths among childrenAfter acute renal failure.

The Indian company does not sell cough medicines in Indonesia, but according to Minister Sadiq, cough syrups were sold from other manufacturers in the country, with a very high dose of the same substances. Earlier this month, Indonesia banned all cough medicines containing diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol due to the deaths in The Gambia.

According to the minister, the substances were now also found in the bodies of children who had recently died of acute kidney failure, but he did not clarify how many of the 74 children were infected. The Indonesian government, along with representatives of the World Health Organization, is investigating the deaths and how they relate to deaths in The Gambia.