Indonesia has suspended the sales of all syrup and liquid based medications after the death of around 100 children plus a rise in acute kidney injuries.

Around 200 cases of acute kidney failures were reported in children mostly below the age of five, Indonesian health officials claim. 

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The ban was announced by Indonesia’s Health Ministry on Wednesday, and it shall remain so until the authorities probe into the unregistered medicinal syrups and their sales, which contain toxic ingredients. 

Paracetamol syrups, which contain diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, would also be closely examined, which are often given to little children locally for fever. 

This comes after the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a global alert over four cough syrups that were linked to the death of around 70 children in The Gambia. 

The cough syrups were manufactured by an Indian Pharmaceutical company, and contained “unacceptable amounts” of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol. WHO said that these syrups were likely a cause for acute kidney injuries. 

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The Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said on Thursday that the medicinal syrups used locally contained the same chemical compounds. “Some syrups that were used by AKI child patients under five were proven to contain ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol that were not supposed to be there, or of very little amount,” he said.

There has been no official disclosure about the death toll. Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist from Griffith University claimed that the death toll could be higher than what is reported. “When cases like these happen, [what we know is] the tip of the iceberg, which means there could be far more victims,” Budiman told BBC Indonesia. 

The Indonesian government has not disclosed the brands of medicine linked to this spike in deaths and acute kidney injuries. 

Sadikin said that his ministry is taking a ‘conservative approach by banning all types of sales.’