Delta-South Richmond
|
John Cummins, M.P. Delta-South Richmond |
News Release |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 23, 1998
The court will hear her case for pension benefits on behalf of herself, her husband and daughter.
Clayton Matchee, a soldier of the Airborne Regiment, has been left totally incapacitated as the result of a suicide attempt while in Somalia. He was required to take the antimalarial drug mefloquine. The drug is known to cause neuro-psychiatric side-effects such as acute depression, paranoia, and on occasion to lead to suicide or suicidal thoughts.
The Matchee case reveals two fundamental public policy failures:
The failure of the Department of National Defence to care for injured soldiers returning from foreign missions;
The failure of Health Canada's Health Protection Branch to carefully evaluate new drugs before licensing, to scrutinize authorized clinical trials of unlicensed drugs, and to effectively monitor the adverse effects of licensed drugs.
Details of the Matchee case and military's problems associated with mefloquine are outlined in the attached backgrounder.
The Federal Court begins hearing the case at 10 o'clock on Tuesday, November 24th.
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For more information, please contact:
John Cummins, M.P.
(613) 992-2957 or (604) 940-8040
Matchee Backgrounder
Mefloquine is acknowledged to have caused serious adverse effects to Canadian Forces personnel in both Somalia in 1992-93 and Rwanda in 1994-95.
The day the drug was administered was known as psycho Tuesday (or Wednesday, depending on the day it was administered) in Somalia.
In 1994, Scott Smith, another Airborne soldier, committed suicide in Rwanda. A military inquiry found mefloquine a contributing factor in his death.
Clayton Matchee's attempted suicide was identified in 1993 by a Canadian military doctor in Somalia, Major Barry Armstrong, as a likely result of the mefloquine.
The Veterans Pension Board denied Marj Matchee and her daughter any veterans benefits. The Board claimed that it had no knowledge of any problems that might have been caused by the drug in Somalia. The Board had never been given any documentary evidence to show the problems that had arisen in Somalia as a result of mefloquine, nor did they have the medical report prepared by Major Armstrong concluding that Matchee's condition was mefloquine-related.
Documents now available show that the Department of Defence fraudulently obtained the drug from the manufacturer and illegally administered it. The drug was not yet licensed for use in Canada. DND has now admitted to their Minister that they mislead the Somalia Inquiry as to the status of mefloquine. Lcol Martin Tepper, who was responsible for the military's mis-use of mefloquine is now employed with the Health Protection Branch (Health Canada).
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"Mefloquine malarial prophylaxis caused one psychiatric repatriation and may have had a role in a suicide attempt. Members of surgical section, amongst others, suffered neuro-psychiatric side-effects. Medical Operations in Somalia, October 26, 1993 (Major Barry Armstrong).
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"Numerous reactions to mefloquine were reported. One patient contracted Falciparum malaria and denied missing medication. A large percentage of the reactions were GI related: with nausea, burning epigastric pain and diarrhoea. Several patients were switched to Doxycycline. Ten patients experienced nightmares, with one patient having feelings of unease and paranoia. One patient heard voices and talked to himself. All were switched to Doxycyline with no subsequent problems." Post Deployment Report Op Deliverance 16 November 1992 - 7 April 1993, HMCS Preserver (to Regional Surgeon, Maritime Forces Atlantic Headquarters, Halifax)
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"At least five people experienced intolerable side effects from Mefloquine, including severe abdominal cramps up to four days after [ingestion] of the drug, insomnia, headaches, depressed mood, dizziness, diarrhoea and nausea.
Medication was tried for at least 3-4 weeks before it was discontinued and replaced with Doxycyline. Other than occasional heartburn and photosensitivity, there was not major problems with Doxycyline." Medical Post-Op Report - Op Relief Nairobi, 24 Oct-20 Dec 92) dated 21 Jan 93
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"Evidence before the Somalia Inquiry indicates that all approvals had been obtained for the use of mefloquine. It must be noted [however] that there was no intention to mislead the Commission..." October 1997 Advisory Note to Minister of National Defence advising him that DND has mislead the Somalia Inquiry on mefloquine