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<p>Mefloquine (brand name Lariam) is one of several drugs licensed for the prevention (chemoprophylaxis) or treatment of malaria. As with any medicine, mefloquine may cause side effects in some people and the potential risks should be balanced against the expected benefits of therapy. Information on possible side effects is available to the medical profession via the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC), and to patients via the Patient Information Leaflet.</p><p>The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has recently strengthened the warnings in the mefloquine SmPC, particularly regarding the well-established risk of neuropsychiatric side effects. The licence holder also issued a letter to health care professionals at the end of October 2013 to increase awareness of these possible risks, alongside a prescriber checklist and patient alert card to aid compliance with the warnings. In November 2013, the MHRA issued a further communication to health care professionals on</p><p>the risks of mefloquine via its Drug Safety Update bulletin, which is available at:</p><p>www.mhra.gov.uk/Safetyinformation/DrugSafetyUpdate/CON336723</p><p>Official national guidance on the appropriate use of anti-malarial medicines also summarises possible risks, and such guidance should be considered when prescribing mefloquine. This includes guidance from the Advisory Committee on Malaria Prevention (ACMP), which includes experts from the medical profession. The ACMP approach to chemoprophylaxis is firmly based on risk assessment taking into account the risk of exposure to the potentially fatal malaria parasite, a person's medical history, and the known side-effects of the various anti-malarial drugs. These factors must all be taken into consideration by those prescribing anti-malarials.</p><p>As with all medicines, the MHRA will keep the safety of mefloquine under continual review.</p> |