More than 400 military personnel who suffered side effects from the antimalarial drug mefloquine (Lariam) have finally reached a settlement with the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) after a nine year battle by the 434 victims seeking compensation.
The novel antimalarial drug was first tested in US troops serving in Vietnam in the 1970s. It was then approved for prophylactic use in malarial areas where there was known resistance to the antimalarial medicine chloroquine.1
However, the neuropsychiatric side effects of the drug, both in civilians and military personnel, soon began to emerge. These included confusion, anxiety, nightmares, depression, hallucinations, and suicidal ideation. In 1996 the UK’s Committee on Safety of Medicines advised doctors to warn patients about the neuropsychiatric adverse effects of mefloquine.
Although damages were awarded to the victims in November last year, details of the settlement were clouded by a confidentiality clause, preventing those affected from speaking out about their victory. Individual settlements, which varied depending on each claimant’s case, were finalised only in July this year.
The issue has come to light only after the Labour MP Emma Lewell put down written questions …
