Written answers

Thursday, 21 January 2016

Department of Defence

Defence Forces Medicinal Products

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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88. To ask the Minister for Defence the number and the percentage of Irish Defence Forces personnel who were prescribed the drug Lariam in each of the years 2001 to 2015, in tabular form. [2557/16]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, there are three anti-malarial drugs in use by the Defence Forces namely Lariam (mefloquine), Malarone and Doxycycline. The choice of medication is a medical decision made by Medical Officers in the Defence Forces having regard to the specific circumstances of the mission and the individual member of the Defence Forces. I can advise the Deputy that, since 2001, Defence Forces’ personnel have completed approximately 7,000 tours of duty in Malaria-prone areas. It should be borne in mind that an individual may complete a number of such tours during their service. I have previously indicated to the Deputy that information in relation to the specific medication prescribed to each individual travelling overseas is retained in an individual’s medical file. While Defence Forces’ management systems are not designed to collate the information requested by the Deputy from individual files, the Director of the Medical Branch has advised that the vast majority of personnel completing these tours of duty were prescribed Lariam as a malarial chemo-prophylaxis.

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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89. To ask the Minister for Defence the percentage of the Irish Defence Forces stock of anti-malarial drugs that is comprised of Lariam. [2564/16]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, there are three anti-malarial drugs in use by the Defence Forces namely Lariam (mefloquine), Malarone and Doxycycline. The Deputy might note that the Defence Forces purchase pharmaceuticals on a demand basis. The purchasing policy is governed by the number of prescriptions presented, and for the individual overseas deployments. Currently, a small quantity of these medicines is held in Defence Forces pharmacies as detailed in the table below.

Drug Total boxes % of Total
Malarone 20 boxes 22.60%
Lariam 34 boxes 25.61%
Doxycycline 69 boxes 51.79%

The Deputy might note that both Malarone and Doxycycline require a daily dosage while Lariam requires a weekly dosage.

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