After 99 children died from syrup medications, Indonesia banned all of them.

The sale of all syrup and liquid medications has been halted in Indonesia because to the over 100 child fatalities there.

Only a few weeks prior, approximately 70 children’s deaths in The Gambia were attributed to a cough syrup.

Acute kidney injuries, which have claimed the lives of 99 young children this year, have been connected to chemicals in some syrup medicines, stated Indonesia.

It is unclear whether the medication was manufactured locally or imported.

Health officials in Indonesia recorded 200 cases of AKI in youngsters on Thursday, the majority of them were under five years old.

Four cough syrups that were connected to the deaths of over 70 children in The Gambia prompted a global alert from the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO discovered ‘unacceptable quantities’ of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol in the syrups used there, which were produced by an Indian pharmaceutical business. According to the organisation, the syrups have ‘perhaps been related with acute kidney damage.’

The same chemical substances were also discovered in certain locally used drugs, said Indonesia’s Health Minister on Thursday.

According to Budi Gunadi Sadikin, ‘Some syrups used by AKI paediatric patients under five were proved to include ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol that were not supposed to be there, or in extremely small amounts.’

He did not, however, say how many cases featured the dangerous drugs.

The cough syrups used in The Gambia were not available there.

Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist from Griffith University, told BBC Indonesia that when incidents like these occur, ‘[all we know is] the tip of the iceberg, which means there could be far more victims.’

The brands or varieties of syrup medications connected to sick children have not yet been released by Indonesian authorities, who have instead temporarily banned the sale and prescription of all syrup and liquid medications.