Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O'Shaughnessy on 19 December (HL3942), whether they consider (1) suicide, and (2) the “irreversible” neurological condition described in the current mefloquine product information to be permanent adverse reactions.

The product information refers to irreversible neuropathic conditions, which are conditions affecting the nervous system.

The product information states that neuropsychiatric adverse reactions, such as mood disturbances, psychosis and vestibular disorders, may occur during treatment and includes warnings and precautions to minimise these risks. Some of these reactions may persist, but it has not been established whether these are permanent.

Mefloquine is effective in the prevention and treatment of malaria and is approved by the Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which regulates medication in the United Kingdom. As with all medicines, the MHRA keeps the safety of mefloquine under continual review. Mefloquine continues to be recommended as a safe and effective form of malaria prevention by the Advisory Committee on Malaria Prevention, the World Health Organization and other respected organisations who take account of the body of global evidence.