The mysterious case of kidney failure that attacks children in Indonesia continues to grow. This time, as of October 24, 2022, the DKI Jakarta Health Service noted that there are 90 confirmed cases in its area.
“DKI Jakarta data as of October 24 [2022] recorded as many as 90 reported cases,” said Head of the Health Office Widyastuti in a webinar on YouTube, Tuesday (10/25/2022).
Widyastuti added that the DKI Health Office continues to carry out mitigation to control cases of acute kidney failure in these children. Not only that, but his party will also coordinate with the Human Resources Development Agency (BPSDM) to educate the public regarding the disease.
“Yesterday, we gathered the PKK [Family Welfare Empowerment] driving team in all areas, including villages, sub-districts, and cities, led by the head of the provincial PKK mobilizing team, providing education to Dasawisma cadres,” he said.
The reason is that the Dasawisma cadres are in direct contact with the community, so it is very effective in disseminating information related to the prevention and treatment of acute kidney failure which is now spreading.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) reports the latest data on cases of acute kidney failure in children. A spokesman for the Ministry of Health, Mohammad Syahril, said that until October 24, 2022, there were 255 cases with 143 deaths.
“The death rate is 56 percent,” he said, quoted from the Ministry of Health’s YouTube, Tuesday (25/10/2022).
Furthermore, until now the exact cause of this mysterious acute kidney failure is still unknown. However, it is suspected that it was triggered by the harmful substances ethylene glycol (EG), diethylene glycol (DEG), and ethylene glycol butyl ether (EGBE).
“We conclude that the reason is that the drug [contains] chemical substances which are contaminants from this solvent,” said Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin at the State Palace, Monday (24/10/2022).
The Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM RI) previously also reported three drug products with EG contamination exceeding the threshold. The three products are Unibebi Cough Syrup (Universal Pharmaceutical Industries), Unibebi Fever Drop (Universal Pharmaceutical Industries), and Unibebi Fever Syrup (Universal Pharmaceutical Industries).
Acute kidney failure or medically known as atypical progressive acute kidney disorder is a condition where the kidneys rapidly decline. This disease generally attacks children under five. However, it is possible for babies aged less than 1 year to school children to be affected by this disease.
