ANTARA NEWS



 

 
 
A pharmaceutical company from Japan, Takeda, has donated 200 vials of acute kidney injury (AKI) antidote, Fomepizole, to Indonesia, Health Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Syahril informed at a press conference here on Thursday.

“The drug will arrive next week. We will directly distribute it to government hospitals,” he said.

In addition to the donation from Japan, 70 vials of Fomepizole are also scheduled to arrive from Singapore.

The government has provided Fomepizole to the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM). The condition of 10 out of 11 AKI patients at the hospital has been reported to have improved after they were administered the antidote.

Laboratory tests showed that the ethylene glycol levels in the 10 child patients were no longer detectable. The patients also managed to urinate after receiving the antidote.

Syahril said that the antidote is being provided for free by the government to patients who developed acute kidney injury after consuming syrup medicines that were suspected to be contaminated with ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol.

"This medicine (Fomepizole) is being provided completely free of charge to patients as part of the government's responsibility to handle cases of acute kidney injury," he affirmed.

As of October 26, 2022, the Ministry of Health has recorded 269 cases of atypical progressive acute kidney injury in Indonesia.

The regions with the highest number of cases are Jakarta, with 57 cases, followed by West Java (36), Aceh (30), East Java (25), and West Sumatra (19).

Besides Japan, the government is importing the antidote from Singapore, Australia, and the United States.

The government is currently still collecting data on acute kidney injury cases in all districts and cities in collaboration with local health offices, hospitals, and the Indonesian Pediatric Society (IDAI).