Mefloquine (Lariam) Action - Advice to Travelers

"I felt my head was leaving my body and I was falling down rapidly into an unknown darkness ... saw myself looking at my body and I thought I had to throw away that body because it was not useful anymore. On the 16th floor of the hotel in Bangkok ... I thought the window would open itself and then I might fly out of the window."

Information for Travelers

Malaria is a serious disease. Travelers should do everything they can to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes (such as sleeping under netting; using insect repellent; and wearing long sleeves, pants, and socks). They should take antimalarial medicine, if there is a substantial risk of malaria in the country they will be visiting.

The three main malaria preventives - doxycycline, Lariam® (mefloquine) and Malarone® (atovaquone/proguanil) - offer similar levels of protection. Chloroquine is also appropriate in some parts of the world. Not every drug is right for every person, or appropriate for every location. The CDC, WHO, and UK Guidelines for Malaria Prevention make recommendations for countries all over the world. You and your health care provider need to review the information so you can decide which drug is right for you.

Adverse reactions to Lariam are quite common. Two recent published clinical trials - in Clinical Infectious Diseases (Overbosch) in 2001 and in the British Medical Journal (Schlagenhauf) in 2003 - find that 29% to 42% of people taking Lariam suffer from mild to moderate to severe neuropsychiatric side effects. Roche, Lariam's manufacturer, states the effects can last "long after" the drug has been stopped, without defining the length of time (Roche, 2003). Our experience indicates that although most effects disappear within months, some last for years, up to 10 years and longer. Physical adverse reactions can also be very severe and can include damage to the balance system.