The prescription of anti-malarial drugs to the Armed Forces by the MOD is the top story of Defence interest this morning.
Anti-Malarial Drugs
There is widespread print and broadcast coverage of the House of Commons Defence Committee’s report on the military’s use of mefloquine – better known by its trade name Lariam. MPs called for the drug - which has been associated in a minority of users with an increased risk of psychosis and anxiety reactions - to be designated a "drug of last resort" only to be issued when there was no alternative available. The Times suggests that the MOD will face hundreds of legal claims from soldiers whose lives were affected by the drug.
MOD policy is clear that Lariam should only be prescribed after an individual risk assessment and we have blogged previously on its use in the armed forces. There is no universal safe and effective malaria prophylaxis and no anti-malarial drug is 100% effective. That is why the MOD needs to use a range of prevention drugs to protect our personnel, to ensure the treatment provided is going to be the most effective. Mefloquine is licensed in the UK by the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency. This is based on the expert guidance of Public Health England’s Advisory Committee for Malaria Prevention (ACMP), which advises on malaria prevention for all travellers from the UK and mefloquine remains one of the drugs that they advise may be used.
Since 2004/05 Defence policy has been clear on the requirement for individual risk assessments to be undertaken in the prescription of anti-malarial drugs, through a patient consultation. Responsibility for ensuring this happens was passed from the single Services to Defence Primary Healthcare in 2013. An individual risk assessment for anti-malarial medication considers a number of factors including the health of an individual, their medical history, any past history of side effects, the region the individual is deploying to and the length of that deployment.
We welcome the Committee’s report and note its recommendations. We will consider them in detail and respond in due course. The MOD’s statement on this issue is below.
The vast majority of deployed personnel already receive alternatives to Lariam and, where it is used, it is only prescribed after an individual risk assessment. But we have a duty to protect our personnel from Malaria and we welcome the Committee’s conclusion that, in some cases, Lariam will be the most effective way of doing that.
Libya
The Daily Telegraph suggests that Libyan fighters wounded while fighting Daesh in Libya will be airlifted to the UK for treatment, as well as at a hospital at the British military base in Cyprus. The proposed plan emerged as one of Libya’s deputy Prime Ministers criticised European nations for not making similar offers.
An MOD Spokesperson said:
The UK is committed to working with international partners on how best to support the new Libyan Government of National Accord. No decisions have been made and it is too early to say what this support will look like.