John Cummins, M.P. Delta-South Richmond

News Release

October 8, 2002

More Concerns on Government’s Handling of Mefloquine

OTTAWA- “Canadian soldiers continue to report adverse effects from the military’s use of the antimalarial drug mefloquine," said John Cummins, M.P. (Delta-South Richmond).

"As a result of concerns expressed to me by soldiers and the military ombudsman’s Special Report: Systemic Treatment of CF Members With PTSD (Complainant: Christian McEachern) I have asked the Ministers of Health and National Defence a series of questions on the government’s handling of the drug. The questions are printed on the House of Commons Order Paper,” Cummins stated.

The ombudsman’s report reveals that Corporal McEachern understood mefloquine taken as part of his deployment to Uganda increased the severity of his post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms:

“After I stopped the mefloquine, I was starting to get nausea ... severe chest pains and I was getting really bad night sweats and ... headaches and ... I started to have more severe symptoms. So I came back and they really start to kick in about two weeks after I stopped my mefloquine cycle and to this day I still think that mefloquine is what triggered the more physical side effects of the PTSD.”

A recognized side-effect of mefloquine is suicide. The government advised Parliament that one soldier attempted suicide in Somalia in 1993 and another committed suicide in Rwanda in 1994. All soldiers on both the Somalia and Rwanda deployments were administered mefloquine.

The ombudsman’s report indicates that the number of suicides by soldiers might be considerably higher than the government has so far reported:

“Another important indicator of the prevalence of PTSD in the CF could come from suicide statistics. Anecdotally, a number of the soldiers interviewed commented on the high number of their compatriots who had chosen to end their own lives. One soldier believed that 11 CF members who had been deployed in Rwanda had committed suicide. Other soldiers were aware of peers who had committed suicide. Several members interviewed had themselves either attempted or contemplated taking their own lives. One soldier confided to an Ombudsman’s investigator that he had contemplated suicide to avoid harming his family...”

There are now reports of soldiers returning from Afghanistan who complain of adverse reactions to the drug.

“Mefloquine has been administered to Canadian soldiers since the late nineteen eighties. It is long past time to hear the truth from the Ministers of Health and Defence about the problems with the drug and what measures they have taken to deal with these adverse reactions,” said Cummins.

Contact: John Cummins, M.P.
(613) 992-2957 or cell (604) 970-0937