"For the four products reported in Gambia, the BPOM has conducted a data search, and it is known that the four products are not registered in Indonesia," BPOM's Public Relations Bureau noted through an official statement received here, Tuesday.
The BPOM also continues to conduct comprehensive pre- and post-market supervision regarding the circulation of these products in Indonesia.
"BPOM continues to carry out routine supervision of circulating drug products," the statement said.
According to Reuters, no less than 66 children in Gambia, West Africa, reportedly died after taking cough syrup containing paracetamol.
The four cough syrup products are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup, and Magrip N Cold Syrup.
Gambia's Director of Health Services Mustapha Bittaye said he had withdrawn the sale of the drugs from the market due to the incident.
The local government is also investigating the issue after a spike in cases of acute kidney injury in children under the age of five since late July 2022.
The group of children, who died as a result of this incident, reportedly experienced several symptoms, such as difficulty urinating, fever, vomiting, and kidney failure.
The World Health Organization (WHO), in an official statement, issued a global warning for four cough syrups suspected of being linked to the deaths of 66 children in Gambia.
According to the WHO, the four drugs were manufactured by an Indian company, Maiden Pharmaceuticals, which allegedly did not have product safety guarantees.
Laboratory analysis of samples from the four products showed that all the cough syrups contained diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants, whose amount exceeded the safe limits.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
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