An ex-army chief has said he would not use the anti-malarial drug Lariam due to the potentially “catastrophic” side effects.
Lord Dannatt, who was head of the army between 2006 and 2009, has told the BBC that he refuses to take the controversial drug because of the impact it had on his son Bertie.
Lariam, which is the brand name for Mefloquine, can cause depression, anger and suicidal thoughts.
Lord Dannatt described how his son became “extremely depressed” after taking the drug, saying he was “not the person that he would normally be – a very bubbly, personable sort of individual.”
“He got very withdrawn, and we got very worried about him. If that had been untreated, who knows where it would have gone.”
‘I’ll take anything, but I’m not taking Lariam’
Lord Dannatt admitted that he would never use Lariam himself, despite the fact it was prescribed to his own troops.
He said: “Because Bertie had that effect, whenever I’ve needed anti-malarial drugs, I’ve said, ‘I’ll take anything, but I’m not taking Lariam.’”
He added that he would be “quite content to say sorry” to the army personnel who were prescribed Lariam during his time as head of the army.
When asked why the issue was not addressed at the time, Lord Dannatt said the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan diverted attention away from the problem, causing it to be put “on the backburner.”
Between April 2007 and March 2015, more than 17,000 troops working for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) were offered Lariam medication.
However, the MoD insists that “the vast majority of deployed personnel already receive alternatives to Lariam”, and that it is only given after individual risk assessments.
The MoD added that the drug “continues to be recommended as safe by Public Health England and the World Health Organisation.”
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