A report by British MPs recommends the British military use the anti-malaria drug mefloquine only as a ‘drug of last resort.’
Back in 1993, teenager Shidane Arone was beaten to death by Canadian soldiers on a peacekeeping mission to Somalia after he was found trying to sneak onto a Canadian base.
This shameful act led to an inquiry, the disbanding of the Canadian Airborne Regiment, and charges against those involved. But during the inquiry and in its aftermath, veterans of the mission maintained that the killing might have been caused by psychiatric reactions to the anti-malaria drug mefloquine, which had been administered to the soldiers involved.
Despite that, the Canadian military still issues this drug to soldiers serving in malaria zones. It shouldn’t.