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Written question asked by Baroness Corston (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 June 2015, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 1 July 2015. It was answered by Earl Howe (Conservative) on Thursday, 25 June 2015 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Armed Forces: Mefloquine

Question

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.

Answer

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.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL564
Session
2015-16
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Armed forces Drugs Mental illness Side effects Afghanistan Malaria Mefloquine
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk