Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the hon. member regarding the antimalaria drug lariam mefloquine and its availability to the Canadian Armed Forces in Somalia.
As he knows, lariam has been and continues to be used and recognized worldwide as one of the most effective drugs for the prevention and treatment of a form of malaria resistant to most other antimalarial drugs. Estimated at over 2 million deaths each year, malaria is one of the world's greatest killers.
Prior to its marketing approval in 1993, lariam was available to travelling Canadians through an open access clinical trial, referred to as a safety monitoring study. The study provided Canadians with early access to a drug where few alternatives were available and monitored potential side effects of the drug in the interests of patient safety.
In 1994 Health Canada took immediate and affirmative action when media reported claims of several incidents where lariam may have been involved in Somalia. The Department of Health requested the sponsor to provide all information and adverse drug reaction reports as required under the safety monitoring study.
According to Health Canada directives, researchers involved in clinical studies and attending physicians are bound to report without any exception any significant adverse reaction to drugs. The results of the monitoring study on drug safety, combined with recent information in scientific literature, confirm the prescribing information approved by Health Canada for Lariam.
The decision to use Lariam as a first choice therapy is a matter of responsibility for the patient. It is for the prescribing physician to decide in consultation with the patient whether a drug's potential benefits outweigh the risks.
I am sorry I could not answer.