Mefloquine / Topics & Posted Articles

Sparrow, how did you get my passport photo?

No kidding...they got rid of the Peri's within the service...learn something new everyday.

LMAO Sparrow

I've been told you can't tell me or victor apart! I think I'll donate my fedora to the Canadian military museum in Ottawa if Teen will just say"  Trudeau has my vote if he keeps his election promises and brings back the PA for veterans which my leader Stevie Harper wouldn't after 10 longgggggggggg years in power! Because isn't it about doing what's best for the collective good of all veterans even if we don't vote for a certain party!

Pictured you as a victor newman fan nav.

They got rid of the Peri trade, back in the late 90's, and went with civilian fitness instructors. ironically many of whom were ex-Peri's, and getting paid more than they did while serving. Then at approximately the same time, it was decided that anytime a ship was scheduled for a lengthy deployment, they would pay one of these civies an exorbitant amount of money to sail with them, to schedule fitness classes, and if possible, conduct fitness tests.

Lol @ Nav!

Well m I couldn't tell ya, the only exercise I got was when I could ditch my fellow officers in the ward room and get me an invitation to the main cave for a session of moose milk then out with the boys in port! The other exercise was dialing the sat phone in the ccr trying to get updates for Days of our lives!

Ah you Navy folks,,lol. Ok, I know us Army lads have done our share of crowbar hotel..
I was only on one ship, so can someone tell me why we had a Civi fitness instr, or
maybe they all are now. Tks..VVV

A member of the Royal Canadian Navy charged in Japan with a drug offence is the son of a high-ranking military official, CTV News has learned.

Ian Greenwood, a member of HMCS Winnipeg’s crew and son of retired Real Admiral Richard Greenwood, has been charged with drug use following a drug test and he remains in Japanese custody.

A civilian fitness instructor was also charged with drug use.

None of the charges have been proven in court.

Rear Admiral Gilles Couturier, commander of Maritime Forces Pacific, called the allegations troubling.

“This will be an excellent example to show all military members and those in the Royal Canadian Navy that this kind of behaviour and substance abuse will not be tolerated,” he said.

The charges follow a port visit to Tokyo by HMCS Winnipeg, a Halifax-class frigate with a crew of about 250 personnel.

Canada does not have a military-to-military prisoner exchange agreement with Japan.

The federal government is providing consular assistance.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canadian-charged-in-japan-is-son-of-top-military-official-1.2766930

Veterans anxious to hear from minister Kent Hehr on mefloquine issue

Canada’s new Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr is “under the gun” to respond to ex-soldiers’ concerns about the negative impacts of mefloquine, an anti-malaria drug, says John Dowe, who runs a new three-country advocacy group.

“We’d like him to sit down with us and work cooperatively on this,” said Dowe, a former Airborne Regiment soldier who served in the ill-fated 1993 Somalia mission.

Hehr’s office confirmed the Calgary minister received a letter on the subject.

The department also told the Journal it encourages all veterans who think they have a disability “including PTSD” to apply for assistance.

“Every situation is unique and we work with veterans on a case-by-case basis,” said spokesperson Sarah McMaster.

But Dowe said the department should respond to new research showing the drug could have long-term side effects, possible nervous system damage and produce symptoms similar to PTSD.

The drug, first used by the Canadian Airborne regiment in the early 199os, produces side effects such as depression, anxiety, nightmares, paranoia and aggressive behaviour.

These side effects came to prominence in the Somalia mission as a potential factor in the beating death of a Somali teen by two soldiers.

Dowe said he’s still pushing for an apology for the dubious way the drug was issued to 900 Airborne soldiers in 1992-93.

The military ignored the manufacturers’ requirement to individually assess each soldier for risk factors, provided no warning about when to stop taking the drug, and did not monitor side effects, he said.

“This raises major ethical issues,” said Dowe.

Many Airbone soldiers felt they were “guinea pigs ” in the drug trial for the U.S. manufacture, Roche — a view backed up the 1999 auditor general’s report on the use of mefloquine in 1992-93, says Dowe.

That report notes that the drug, developed by the U.S. army, was available only under a clinical trial or “safety monitoring study” in Canada in 1990-93.

That required informed consent of those taking the drug and close monitoring of the side effects. But neither of those things happened.

The soldiers were not asked for informed consent (not compatible with military discipline), and while they were briefed about possible side effects, they were not given written warnings, says the AG.

Also, the defence department did not monitor adverse reactions as required by the study, said the AG’s report. As a result, data about “the safety or efficacy of the drug in field conditions was not gathered.”

The AG report also notes that pilots were not given mefloquine due to concerns about their fine motor skills.

The UK minister issued an apology last month to all soldiers without individual assessment for risk factors.

That gave encouragement to soldiers in three countries, Canada, Australia and the UK, fighting to have the drug banned and treatment expanded, said Dowe, of the International Veterans Mefloquine Alliance.

http://edmontonjournal.com/news/national/veterans-anxious-to-hear-from-minister-kent-hehr-on-mefloquine-issue

Johnny..according to this article since the 1970s...1990s for Canada... in particular to the Canadian Airborne Regiment in 1993 for Somalia mission.

The file on mefloquine
Mefloquine developed by U.S. army and Roche in the 1970s to prevent malaria and treat it.

Used widely by travellers and armed forces for years.

Known side effects for some users include nightmares, depression, cognitive impairment, aggressive behaviour and paranoia.

Issued to Canadian Airborne Regiment in 1993 for Somalia mission.

In 2009, drug no longer on the preferred list in U.S. military

In 2013, U.S. military bans the use by special forces after the FDA issues strong warnings about side effects.

FDA continues to approve the drug as long as it is properly prescribed.

Still used by forces in the UK, Australia and Canada.

http://edmontonjournal.com/news/insight/new-push-for-ban-on-mefloquine

I was just wondering if anyone knows what year we started using Mefloquine? I did UNDOF Damascus in 80. I have a slight memory of being given something there, that made most of us sick, but I cannot remember what it was. And it is not in my needle book. But who knows what crap we where given. Just throwing it out there for you in the know on this stuff.. VVV...

http://edmontonjournal.com/news/insight/new-push-for-ban-on-mefloquine

Former soldiers from the disbanded Canadian Airborne Regiment are pushing for a ban on the controversial anti-malaria drug mefloquine that some say plagued the disastrous 1993 Somalia mission.

Two events — the 2013 U.S. military ban on mefloquine for Special Forces and new scientific studies showing toxicity from the drug can cause permanent brain damage — should force a review of Canadian policy, says John Dowe, a former airborne soldier.

Two former military doctors also agree, given the new studies show evidence of long term, adverse effects similar to symptoms linked to post-traumatic stress disorder.

Dowe was witness to the horrific events in March 1993 — the beating death by two airborne soldiers of Somali civilian Shidane Arone, who stole into the Canadian desert compound in Belet Huen.

And he thinks mefloquine, with its many adverse side-effects, played a role in the appalling conduct of the two soldiers. Those side-effects include nightmares, insomnia, depression, cognitive impairment, mood swings and aggression.

Last fall, Dowe began to work with the International Mefloquine Veterans Alliance that is calling for a ban of the drug “in military forces worldwide.”

There are advocacy groups in Australia, the U.K., and Canada, Dowe said.

The international campaign gathered steam last fall when a U.K. parliamentary committee began an inquiry into mefloquine in face of mounting criticism there.

The campaign got a major boost this month when British Defence Minister Mark Lancaster issued an apology at the inquiry to soldiers improperly issued the drug.  

As in Canada, the drug was issued to all British soldiers heading to malaria-prone regions such as Afghanistan, despite warnings from the drug manufacturer to assess each soldier individually for risk factors, such as pre-existing conditions, including depression.  

“That was a very significant day for us,” Dowe said.

Airborne soldiers in Somalia were issued the drug with no individual assessment and no one monitored the side-effects during the mission, he said.

Hervey Blois, a medic on the fateful Somali mission, recalled getting the weekly “sandwich bag “ with the big pill and no warning about side-effects and no warning to stop taking the drug if side-effects occurred.

Medic Hervey Blois spent 20 years in the military. In this photo, he is preparing for 1993 tour to Bosnia after returning from Somalia mission where he served as operating room technician.

​
The soldiers took the drug on Wednesdays. Those nights, the cries  and shouts of soldiers with nightmares — dubbed  “meflomares” — disrupted the African quiet, said Blois, who still suffers from the side-effects.

In late 2015, Blois wrote the Defence Department and Veterans Affairs seeking assistance and an apology to the soldiers of the airborne regiment.

“I’m not happy with the response, it does not address the questions at all,” Blois said.

The Defence Department confirmed the drug is still “a front line anti-malarial” drug used along with other anti-malarial drugs.

But these days, fewer soldiers are using it — about five per cent, spokeswoman Jennifer Eckersley said.

Drug manufacturer Roche recently told the British inquiry the drug has a higher risk of causing depression and anxiety than other anti-malarials.

That’s why it must be properly prescribed according to the guidelines which call for individual risk assessment, Dr. Franches Nicole told the committee.

Given the mounting evidence of long-term effects, the drug should be dropped, say two doctors.

In July 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued stronger warnings about possible permanent neurological side-effects, including dizziness, anxiety, depression and hallucinations.

The FDA also noted the possibility that soldiers with mefloquine toxicity — toxic levels in the brain — may have been misdiagnosed with other disorders such as PTSD.

Shortly after those warnings, the U.S. military banned the drug for Special Forces including Green Berets and Army Rangers, and made it a drug of last resort for the rest of the military.

Greg Passey, a former Canadian Army psychiatrist who took mefloquine while serving in Rwanda, said new research clearly points to long-term effects from taking the drug.

‘“We were aware of the acute effects,” but recent research showed there are long-term effects, said Passey, who spent 22 years as a medical officer in the military.

Passey, who treats veterans at British Columbia’s Operational Stress Injury Clinic, hopes the military is keeping track of those who took mefloquine because there could be an issue of providing benefits to affected soldiers.

Passey added he’s also convinced mefloquine “played a huge role” in the behaviour of Master Corporal Clayton Matchee and Private Kyle Brown in the beating death and torture of the Somali civilian.

Dr. Remington Nevin, a former U.S. army physician, epidemiologist and renowned expert in neuropsychiatric effects of mefloquine who lectures at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore pushed for years for a ban on the drug in the U.S. military.

And he said the Canadian military should also drop the drug. Only mefloquine, a neurotoxicant, can damage the nervous system. Other anti-malaria drugs, doxycycline and Malarone, do not, Nevin said in an interview.    

It’s almost impossible to issue the drug safely when the troops are in the battlefield, he said.

Drug regulators in the U.S. and Europe warn to discontinue the drug at the onset of “very common symptoms,” including insomnia, abnormal dreams or anxiety, he said.

Packets of mefloquine.

Packets of mefloquine. Shaughn Butts / Edmonton Journal
​
But many soldiers don’t readily report psychological side-effects or do not attribute them to the drug, he said. So they do not stop taking it when they should.  

“There are many reasons a soldier would have sleepless nights in battle,” and he or she might not realize the drug is the cause, Nevin said.

“In military settings, mefloquine cannot be used as directed.”

Nevin also testified in December at the U.K. inquiry that the list of symptoms have grown to include nightmares, which are experienced by “a sizable minority of those taking the drug.”  

Vivid dreams are now considered an early warning sign of susceptibility to toxicity, Nevin said.

Many think adverse reactions occur only to soldiers with a previous history of mental health problems. “This is not true. Anyone is at risk,” he told the committee.

U.S. military policies require an assessment of each soldier before prescribing the drug. But it doesn’t always work, he testified.  

In Afghanistan, one in seven soldiers who showed warning signs, indicating they should not use the drug, were given mefloquine, Nevin told the committee.

In Australia, the country’s Defence Force, made up of the navy, army and air force, has launched an internal inquiry into the use of the drug.

Australian soldiers first used the drug in 2001-02 on a peacekeeping mission in East Timor and later in Afghanistan.

In his testimony before the British inquiry, Lancaster said he still supports his country’s military policy to keep mefloquine on the list of approved anti-malaria drugs for soldiers.

But to those “limited number” of soldiers who claim they were not medically assessed before taking the drug, Lancaster apologized.

“Should that be the case, I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to any former or current service personnel.

“I and my department take extremely seriously claims that any drug has been inappropriately prescribed  to service personnel and  that serious and long-lasting adverse drug effects have been experienced.”



Former military psychiatrist sees the danger with anti-malarial drug

In January 1996, army psychiatrist Dr. Greg Passey informed his bosses he would testify at the Somali inquiry into the conduct of the now disbanded Canadian Airborne Regiment.

Passey was convinced the anti-malaria drug mefloquine taken by the troops played a role in the shocking behaviour of two soldiers involved in the beating death of Somali civilian Shidane Aron in 1993 during a mission in that country.

“I had served with the airborne in Rwanda. They were really professional,” Passey said in a recent interview.

But something had gone wrong on that fateful night in Somalia. Passey figured mefloquine played a role.

“I thought the military should be aware of — that the courts should be aware — that it has the potential to have an extreme effect on individual behaviour.

“I wrote a letter to the committee in January 1996 and stated my opinion that mefloquine had significant side-effects … of paranoia and aggression.”

“Unfortunately, the Liberal government shut down the inquiry the week before I was to testify. And that was the end of my involvement in the issue until now.”

In recent months, former airborne veterans have started a campaign to ban mefloquine and re-examine its impact on former soldiers.

Passey, who went on to become an expert in post-traumatic stress disorder, agrees with their concerns.

He saw the side-effects when he was in Rwanda just after the genocide, where Canadian General Romeo Dallaire headed a small UN force. Passey was head of a mental health team sent to assess the condition of military members who witnessed the slaughter.

Former army psychiatrist Greg Passey is an expert in treating PTSD. He's also concerned about new studies showing similar symptoms among soldiers who had adverse reactions to mefloquine, an anti-malarial drug.

Former army psychiatrist Greg Passey is an expert in treating PTSD.  Supplied
​
Passey took mefloquine himself. While he personally had no side-effects, he saw them in two members of his team and it made him uncomfortable.

“These two became isolated, mistrustful, paranoid and verbally aggressive. At one point in a meeting, one of them pulled out a knife and was playing with it.”

Passey said the military has a right to order troops to take the drug if it is the only way to avoid getting malaria.

“From a military perspective in a war scenario, the mission takes precedence,” he said. “But if at all possible, you should not be prescribing it.”

The file on mefloquine

Mefloquine developed by U.S. army and Roche in the 1970s to prevent malaria and treat it.

Used widely by travellers and armed forces for years.

Known side effects for some users include nightmares, depression, cognitive impairment, aggressive behaviour and paranoia.

Issued to Canadian Airborne Regiment in 1993 for Somalia mission.

In 2009, drug no longer on the preferred list in U.S. military

In 2013, U.S. military bans the use by special forces after the FDA issues strong warnings about side effects.

FDA continues to approve the drug as long as it is properly prescribed.

Still used by forces in the UK, Australia and Canada.

​