The pentagon announced it would form a panel of experts to dispel safety "myths" about an anti-malaria pill given weekly to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of the fears was that taking the prescription drug, Lariam, causes suicide and neurological problems.
Defense officials claimed that Lariam is easier to dispense, more effective than three other anti-malaria drugs distributed and incidents of adverse reactions reported were rare.
In response to the growing number of reports of problems, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered Hoffman LaRoche, the company that makes Lariam, to put warning labels on the prescriptions listing the side effects of the drug. Some of the side effects noted were anxiety, suicidal thoughts, hallucinations and depression, which in some cases have continued after discontinuation of the drug.
Lawmakers and a group opposed to the drug, Lariam Action USA, have received over 100 complaints from troops and veterans who experienced dangerous side effects caused by Lariam.
A LaRoche spokesperson stated that cases of severe reactions were as few as one in 13,000. On the other hand, a study reported "mild to serious neuropsychiatric reactions" in almost one-third of civilians who had taken Lariam.
Although Lariam has been the pentagon’s first choice of anti-malaria drug, they may switch to another drug for the troops in Iraq.
Yahoo! News March 9, 2004
Lariam was first developed and introduced to the U.S. army for the treatment of malaria in the late 1970s. Lariam was first used as a malaria prevention in 1985 and since that time approximately 14.5 million people have been prescribed the drug for prevention, compared to the 1.6 million who have been given Lariam for treatment.
For over the past 10 years, we have known that this drug can cause psychiatric problems.
I first posted the concerns about Lariam in 2002. The military will want to use this panel to dispute the overwhelming amount of scientific evidence of all the dangerous side effects of Lariam. It is quite tragic to depend on expensive medications loaded with deadly side effects when much simpler and effective remedies for malaria are readily available.
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