§ Ms CorstonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what factors were taken into account by the Malaria Advisory Committee when recently recommending that travellers to any part of the world for two weeks or less should not take Mefloquine (Lariam); and what assessment he had made of the need for guidance for those travelling for more than two weeks but less than six months. [15450]
§ Ms JowellThe "Guidelines for the prevention of malaria in travellers from the United Kingdom", which were published in September this year, give full details of the issues considered and references used by the group of experts who compiled them. The guidelines are comprehensive and cover periods of travel of varying lengths, including advice for travel more than two weeks but less than six months. The guidelines advise that the prophylactic regimen of choice will depend on a variety of factors such as the level of risk from malaria which exists in the country to be visited, the length of stay, the activities the traveller will be engaging in, the traveller's medical history, the effectiveness of each prophylactic regimen and the potential adverse effects of the regimen. The guidelines do recommend mefloquine for trips shorter than two weeks if the risk of highly chloroquine resistant malaria is high.