§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons army doctors during the recent deployment in Sierra Leone and Senegal did not carry sufficient supplies of(a) mefloquine and (b) savarine; and if he will make a statement.[126055]
§ Mr. Hoon[holding answer 15 June 20001: The normal anti-malarial drugs for Sierra Leone are mefloquine, or chloroquine and proguanil tablets for aircrew. Supplies of these drugs were readily available. The reasons why some personnel deployed to Sierra Leone without supplies of mefloquine are being investigated by the Ministry of Defence. The French anti-malarial drug savarine, which is a combination of chloroquine and proguanil, was acquired locally as an interim measure and distributed within 24 hours of personnel arriving in theatre. Personnel who had deployed without supplies of mefloquine were transferred to mefloquine within four days of arrival in theatre.
§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy on medical preparedness of(a) the spearhead battalions of the Rapid Reaction Corps and (b) other armed forces personnel in all three Services, with particular reference to Sierra Leone; and if he will make a statement.[126056]
§ Mr. Hoon[holding answer 15 June 2000]: It is the Ministry of Defence's policy that all Service personnel should be up to date with routine vaccinations and that members of the Joint Rapid Reaction Forces should be up to date with certain additional vaccinations, depending on their degree of readiness. Personnel deploying to high risk areas should receive further vaccinations specific to the risks they face. Other aspects of medical preparedness will depend on the role of the deploying forces and the geographical location to which they are deploying.