Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi on Thursday said some chemical compounds had been found in a syrup, without revealing its name or the brand, media reported on Thursday.
"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," Sadikin reportedly said.
The news comes weeks after nearly 70 children were killed in Gambia, possibly after being treated with Indian-manufactured cough syrups.
Following the scandal, the Indian Health Ministry confirmed that samples of all four Maiden Pharmaceuticals' products supplied to the African country were sent to a federal laboratory for examination.
On Wednesday, Indonesia health official Muhammad Syahril Mansyur said that the authorities received 206 reported cases from 20 provinces with 99 deaths in this regard. Most of the children affected were under five.
“As a precaution, the ministry has asked all health workers in health facilities not to prescribe liquid medicine or syrup temporarily … we also asked drug stores to temporarily stop non-prescription liquid medicine or syrup sales until the investigation is completed,” Mansyur stated.