Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many service men and women who were deployed to Afghanistan between 2007 and 2014, and were required to take Lariam (mefloquine), subsequently required mental health treatment.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Between 1 April 2007 and 31 December 2014, 16,473 UK Regular Armed Forces personnel were prescribed mefloquine (commercial name Lariam). Up to 31 March 2015, 1,066 (6 per cent) were assessed as having a mental health disorder at their initial assessment at an MOD Department for Community Mental Health (DCMH) or on admission to an MOD in-patient provider. It is not possible from centrally-held data to identify whether an assessment is associated with a patient having taken mefloquine.
Former Service men and women are treated by the NHS and their status as a veteran is not always recorded on their NHS medical records. It is therefore not possible to say how many former Service personnel have required psychiatric treatment after taking mefloquine.
Between 1 April 2007 and 31 December 2014, 536 UK Armed Forces personnel were prescribed mefloquine prior to or whilst on deployment to Afghanistan. Up to 31 March 2015, 43 (8 per cent) were assessed as having a mental health disorder at their initial assessment at an MOD DCMH or on admission to an MOD in-patient provider.
Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) serving and (2) former service men and women have required psychiatric treatment after taking Lariam (mefloquine).
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Between 1 April 2007 and 31 December 2014, 16,473 UK Regular Armed Forces personnel were prescribed mefloquine (commercial name Lariam). Up to 31 March 2015, 1,066 (6 per cent) were assessed as having a mental health disorder at their initial assessment at an MOD Department for Community Mental Health (DCMH) or on admission to an MOD in-patient provider. It is not possible from centrally-held data to identify whether an assessment is associated with a patient having taken mefloquine.
Former Service men and women are treated by the NHS and their status as a veteran is not always recorded on their NHS medical records. It is therefore not possible to say how many former Service personnel have required psychiatric treatment after taking mefloquine.
Between 1 April 2007 and 31 December 2014, 536 UK Armed Forces personnel were prescribed mefloquine prior to or whilst on deployment to Afghanistan. Up to 31 March 2015, 43 (8 per cent) were assessed as having a mental health disorder at their initial assessment at an MOD DCMH or on admission to an MOD in-patient provider.
Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what stocks of Lariam (mefloquine) they currently hold.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
As at 22 June 2015, the Ministry of Defence holds 11,505 packs of mefloquine (commercial name Lariam) each containing eight tablets.
Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Lariam (mefloquine) is administered to pilots and air crew serving in the armed forces.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
As with all prescriptions the Ministry of Defence follows the drug manufacturer's advice which stipulates that Mefloquine (commercially known as Lariam) should not be taken if you are carrying out complex tasks such as driving, piloting an aircraft or diving. Accordingly, the Department's current policy is that aircrew are not to take Mefloquine.
Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many serving (1) members of the armed forces, and (2) reservists, deployed to Sierra Leone in the ebola epidemic have been given Lariam (mefloquine) as a malaria prophylaxis.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
58 UK Armed Forces personnel who have been deployed on Operation GRITROCK before 31 October 2014 have been prescribed Mefloquine (commercially known as Lariam) as a malaria prophylaxis. All of these 58 were Regulars.
The exact choice of antimalarial drug used by the military depends on a number of factors, including the region the individual is deploying to, their health and any past history of side effects. Malarone is the first choice drug for those Service personnel deploying on Operation GRITROCK. For those individuals unable to tolerate Malarone the second choice is Mefloquine. Doxycycline will be offered to those individuals who cannot tolerate Malorone or Mefloquine.
Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what factors are taken into account when administering larium as a malaria prophylactic to British troops and reservists serving overseas.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
Mefloquine (commercially known as Lariam) is one of a number of effective methods of malaria chemoprophylaxis used by the military in many parts of the world where Service personnel deploy. The exact choice of drug depends on a number of factors, including the region the individual is deploying to, the health of the individual and any history of side effects. Mefloquine and other antimalarial drugs used by the military are licensed in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, based on the expert guidance of the Advisory Committee for Malaria Prevention of Public Health England. The Ministry of Defence reviews its policy on the use of antimalarial drugs in line with advice from the Advisory Committee.