Indonesia bans deadly syrup ingredients linked to Gambia child deaths

Indonesia has banned ingredients linked to the deaths of 70 children in Gambia from cough syrups. 

The Southeast Asian country is looking into whether the same chemicals found in the cough syrups are behind acute kidney damage that has killed more than 20 children in the capital Jakarta this year.

Food and drug regulator BPOM said on Saturday it was investigating the possibility that the ingredients, diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, had contaminated other materials that are used as solvents.

Gambia and India are investigating the deaths from acute kidney injury in the west-African country thought to be linked to cough syrups made by New Delhi-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals.

Read More: Is it time to ban the deadly chemical behind Gambia children deaths?

The World Health Organization has said it found "unacceptable" levels of the ingredients, which can be toxic, in four Maiden products.

"To provide protection to the public, BPOM has set a requirement at the time of registration that all medicinal syrup products for children and adults are not allowed to use diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG)," the regulator said in a statement.

The BPOM reiterated that the four products linked to the deaths in Gambia are not registered in Indonesia, nor any other Maiden products. 

READ MORE: Is it time to ban the deadly chemical behind Gambia children deaths?

For almost a century, DEG–a viscous, sweet chemical–has been known to cause mass poisonings when mixed with medicines. In most of the cases, like what happened in The Gambia, people taking a high dose of DEG suffer kidney failure and die within a few days. 

DEG is generally used in industrial products such as brake fluids, resins, inks, cosmetics and antifreeze agents.