thedrifter
08-12-2002, 04:58 PM
dated 8/8/02
From: lariaminfo@yahoo.com (Lariam Action USA)
To: vetcenter@aol.com
Lariam Action USA is trying to reach Somalia vets and any other
servicepeople who believe they have had an adverse reaction -- short or
prolonged -- to Lariam (mefloquine), a common antimalarial agent. Its side
effects range from simple nausea and dizzyness to depression and anxiety
attacks and paranoid behaviors, to suicidal ideas and even suicide.
Lariam was given to US troops in Somalia, Zaire, and elsewhere. It is
currently being used in Afghanistan. United Press International has been
doing a series on Lariam and vets. The most recent story (Aug 7)asks if
Lariam could be a factor in the killings at Ft Bragg. You can read these
stories at www.upi.com (search "lariam').
I am looking for vets who think they had an adverse reaction to Lariam and
would like to talk about it. If this described you, please contact me asap at
lariaminfo@yahoo.com. Regards,
Jeanne Lese, Lariam Action USA,
HREF="http://www.lariaminfo.homestead.com">www.lariaminfo.homestead.com
Lariam connection to Bragg killings?
By Mark Benjamin and Dan Olmsted
From the Washington Politics & Policy Desk
From the
Washington Politics & Policy Desk
Published 8/7/2002 9:06 AM
View
printer-friendly version
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C., Aug. 6 (UPI) -- At least one of the four Fort Bragg
soldiers suspected of killing his wife this summer had apparently been taking
an anti-malarial drug associated with aggression, paranoia and suicidal
thoughts, United Press International has learned.
That soldier, Sgt. 1st Class Rigoberto Nieves, shot and killed himself after
shooting his wife, Teresa, in a bathroom of their Fayetteville home on June
11, just two days after returning early from service in Afghanistan,
according to police.
In another case, Sam Pennica of the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said
he plans to discuss detecting the drug with the county medical examiner in
the case of Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Floyd. Floyd, 30, shot his wife, Andrea,
in their home in Stedman, near Fayetteville, on July 19, then turned the gun
on himself.
"I will bring it to the attention of the medical examiner," Pennica said.
Army troops in Afghanistan are routinely prescribed the anti-malaria drug,
Lariam. An Army medical source familiar with Nieves' duty in Afghanistan,
speaking on condition of anonymity, said he was sure that Nieves had been
given the drug.
Army officials told UPI that they have no plans to look at a possible link
between Lariam and the incidents because they don't believe the drug could
have been a factor.
Maj. Gary Kolb, spokesman for the Army's Special Operations Command, said the
military is conducting a review of the circumstances surrounding the killings
to see what, if anything, can be done to prevent future problems. That review
is focused on marital problems, and Lariam is an unlikely culprit, according
to Kolb, because one of the four soldiers had not been deployed to
Afghanistan or elsewhere and a second had returned from Afghanistan in
January.
"We've had other soldiers go and come back (without a problem) before these
incidents occurred. ... One of the guys was back for seven months, making it
unlikely that (Lariam) would be a factor," Kolb said.
"There were problems in the marriages before this. That is the focus of the
investigation right now."
The four incidents have drawn national attention and sent Army officials
looking for a common thread:
-- Nieves, a Green Beret, shot himself and his wife, Teresa, on June 11 in
the master bathroom of their home in Fayetteville, police said. He had come
back early from Afghanistan two days before, reportedly to deal with personal
or family problems.
-- Master Sgt. William Wright, a special operations soldier, strangled his
wife, Jennifer, at their Fayetteville home on June 29, then buried her body
in a shallow grave, according to authorities. They said he confessed on July
19 and led them to her body. Wright, who had been back from Afghanistan for
about a month, is charged with first-degree murder.
-- Sgt. Cedric Griffin, an Army cook, stabbed his estranged wife to death in
her trailer "at least" 50 times and set her body on fire July 9, authorities
said. He had not been deployed. He is charged with first-degree murder.
-- Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Floyd, 30, shot his wife, Andrea, in their home in
Stedman, near Fayetteville, on July 19, then shot and killed himself. Floyd,
a member of the secret counter-terrorism unit called Delta Force, had gone to
Afghanistan in November and returned in January.
Lariam, also known by the generic name mefloquine, is the Army's drug of
choice to prevent malaria, which is endemic in Afghanistan from May to
November in all but the mountainous central and northeast regions of the
country. The Army's Walter Reed research institute invented the drug. Lariam
is manufactured by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Hoffmann-La Roche and was
cleared for use in the United States in 1989.
For the majority who tolerate the drug well, Lariam is considered highly
effective at preventing malaria.
Official Army spokesmen would not say whether any of the soldiers involved in
the family shootings had taken Lariam, citing the ongoing investigation. Sgt.
Wright was in Afghanistan during a period when Lariam was dispensed, but it
was unclear whether he took the drug, and his lawyer, Thomas Maher, said he
did not know whether his client had taken it. It was also unknown whether
Floyd took the drug.
The state medical examiner's toxicology report on Nieves said only that there
was no alcohol in his system. A spokesman said no other toxicological tests
had been performed. An autopsy was performed on Floyd but the results are not
yet available.
According to the official product information sheet prepared by the drug
company and approved by the Food and Drug Administration, less frequently
reported side effects include depression, hallucinations, psychotic or
paranoid reactions, anxiety, agitation, aggression and confusion. The label
also warns "suicidal ideation has also rarely been reported, but no
relationship to drug administration has been established."
A two-month investigation published by United Press International in May
found mounting evidence that suggests Lariam has caused such severe mental
problems that in a small percentage of cases it has led to suicide. A UPI
story published July 30 reported that scores of Peace Corps volunteers are
coming forward saying that over the past 12 years they suffered paranoia,
anxiety, hallucinations, memory loss and suicidal behavior they blamed on
Lariam. Some of the reports include problems that patients said have lasted
for years or months after they stopped taking the drug.
The U.S. Labor Department awarded two volunteers workman's compensation for
Lariam-induced psychoses -- one lasting three days, the other an entire year.
In several other countries, reports associating Lariam and violence have been
investigated.
During the Somalia operation in the early 1990s, a Canadian army corporal,
Clayton Matchee, allegedly tortured and killed a 14-year-old boy who had
snuck into the compound. The incident occurred on what troops called Psycho
Tuesday, the day they took their weekly Lariam dose. Matchee subsequently
attempted suicide by hanging and suffered permanent brain damage.
His wife, Marj, told a Canadian newspaper at the time that when her husband
was home from Somalia on leave before the incident, she woke up in the middle
of the night to find his hands around her neck. Marj Matchee said her husband
attributed his behavior to Lariam.
A formal inquiry into the incident concluded that no link to Lariam could be
established "without extensive further investigation."
U.S. Army officials said they never saw any problems among U.S. soldiers
taking Lariam in Somalia. The activist group Lariam Action said that it has
been contacted by 120 veterans of Somalia who said they continue to have
problems with the drug, including 11 who said they have considered or tried
suicide.
The wife of one veteran also wrote in an e-mail to the group that when her
husband returned from Somalia, "he would wake up in the night and choke me or
just about punch me, thinking I was someone from Somalia. He was extremely
angry all the time, and very abusive."
(With assistance from freelance writer J.S. Newton)
Copyright ? 2002 United Press International
Sempers,
Roger
From: lariaminfo@yahoo.com (Lariam Action USA)
To: vetcenter@aol.com
Lariam Action USA is trying to reach Somalia vets and any other
servicepeople who believe they have had an adverse reaction -- short or
prolonged -- to Lariam (mefloquine), a common antimalarial agent. Its side
effects range from simple nausea and dizzyness to depression and anxiety
attacks and paranoid behaviors, to suicidal ideas and even suicide.
Lariam was given to US troops in Somalia, Zaire, and elsewhere. It is
currently being used in Afghanistan. United Press International has been
doing a series on Lariam and vets. The most recent story (Aug 7)asks if
Lariam could be a factor in the killings at Ft Bragg. You can read these
stories at www.upi.com (search "lariam').
I am looking for vets who think they had an adverse reaction to Lariam and
would like to talk about it. If this described you, please contact me asap at
lariaminfo@yahoo.com. Regards,
Jeanne Lese, Lariam Action USA,
HREF="http://www.lariaminfo.homestead.com">www.lariaminfo.homestead.com
Lariam connection to Bragg killings?
By Mark Benjamin and Dan Olmsted
From the Washington Politics & Policy Desk
From the
Washington Politics & Policy Desk
Published 8/7/2002 9:06 AM
View
printer-friendly version
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C., Aug. 6 (UPI) -- At least one of the four Fort Bragg
soldiers suspected of killing his wife this summer had apparently been taking
an anti-malarial drug associated with aggression, paranoia and suicidal
thoughts, United Press International has learned.
That soldier, Sgt. 1st Class Rigoberto Nieves, shot and killed himself after
shooting his wife, Teresa, in a bathroom of their Fayetteville home on June
11, just two days after returning early from service in Afghanistan,
according to police.
In another case, Sam Pennica of the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said
he plans to discuss detecting the drug with the county medical examiner in
the case of Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Floyd. Floyd, 30, shot his wife, Andrea,
in their home in Stedman, near Fayetteville, on July 19, then turned the gun
on himself.
"I will bring it to the attention of the medical examiner," Pennica said.
Army troops in Afghanistan are routinely prescribed the anti-malaria drug,
Lariam. An Army medical source familiar with Nieves' duty in Afghanistan,
speaking on condition of anonymity, said he was sure that Nieves had been
given the drug.
Army officials told UPI that they have no plans to look at a possible link
between Lariam and the incidents because they don't believe the drug could
have been a factor.
Maj. Gary Kolb, spokesman for the Army's Special Operations Command, said the
military is conducting a review of the circumstances surrounding the killings
to see what, if anything, can be done to prevent future problems. That review
is focused on marital problems, and Lariam is an unlikely culprit, according
to Kolb, because one of the four soldiers had not been deployed to
Afghanistan or elsewhere and a second had returned from Afghanistan in
January.
"We've had other soldiers go and come back (without a problem) before these
incidents occurred. ... One of the guys was back for seven months, making it
unlikely that (Lariam) would be a factor," Kolb said.
"There were problems in the marriages before this. That is the focus of the
investigation right now."
The four incidents have drawn national attention and sent Army officials
looking for a common thread:
-- Nieves, a Green Beret, shot himself and his wife, Teresa, on June 11 in
the master bathroom of their home in Fayetteville, police said. He had come
back early from Afghanistan two days before, reportedly to deal with personal
or family problems.
-- Master Sgt. William Wright, a special operations soldier, strangled his
wife, Jennifer, at their Fayetteville home on June 29, then buried her body
in a shallow grave, according to authorities. They said he confessed on July
19 and led them to her body. Wright, who had been back from Afghanistan for
about a month, is charged with first-degree murder.
-- Sgt. Cedric Griffin, an Army cook, stabbed his estranged wife to death in
her trailer "at least" 50 times and set her body on fire July 9, authorities
said. He had not been deployed. He is charged with first-degree murder.
-- Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Floyd, 30, shot his wife, Andrea, in their home in
Stedman, near Fayetteville, on July 19, then shot and killed himself. Floyd,
a member of the secret counter-terrorism unit called Delta Force, had gone to
Afghanistan in November and returned in January.
Lariam, also known by the generic name mefloquine, is the Army's drug of
choice to prevent malaria, which is endemic in Afghanistan from May to
November in all but the mountainous central and northeast regions of the
country. The Army's Walter Reed research institute invented the drug. Lariam
is manufactured by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Hoffmann-La Roche and was
cleared for use in the United States in 1989.
For the majority who tolerate the drug well, Lariam is considered highly
effective at preventing malaria.
Official Army spokesmen would not say whether any of the soldiers involved in
the family shootings had taken Lariam, citing the ongoing investigation. Sgt.
Wright was in Afghanistan during a period when Lariam was dispensed, but it
was unclear whether he took the drug, and his lawyer, Thomas Maher, said he
did not know whether his client had taken it. It was also unknown whether
Floyd took the drug.
The state medical examiner's toxicology report on Nieves said only that there
was no alcohol in his system. A spokesman said no other toxicological tests
had been performed. An autopsy was performed on Floyd but the results are not
yet available.
According to the official product information sheet prepared by the drug
company and approved by the Food and Drug Administration, less frequently
reported side effects include depression, hallucinations, psychotic or
paranoid reactions, anxiety, agitation, aggression and confusion. The label
also warns "suicidal ideation has also rarely been reported, but no
relationship to drug administration has been established."
A two-month investigation published by United Press International in May
found mounting evidence that suggests Lariam has caused such severe mental
problems that in a small percentage of cases it has led to suicide. A UPI
story published July 30 reported that scores of Peace Corps volunteers are
coming forward saying that over the past 12 years they suffered paranoia,
anxiety, hallucinations, memory loss and suicidal behavior they blamed on
Lariam. Some of the reports include problems that patients said have lasted
for years or months after they stopped taking the drug.
The U.S. Labor Department awarded two volunteers workman's compensation for
Lariam-induced psychoses -- one lasting three days, the other an entire year.
In several other countries, reports associating Lariam and violence have been
investigated.
During the Somalia operation in the early 1990s, a Canadian army corporal,
Clayton Matchee, allegedly tortured and killed a 14-year-old boy who had
snuck into the compound. The incident occurred on what troops called Psycho
Tuesday, the day they took their weekly Lariam dose. Matchee subsequently
attempted suicide by hanging and suffered permanent brain damage.
His wife, Marj, told a Canadian newspaper at the time that when her husband
was home from Somalia on leave before the incident, she woke up in the middle
of the night to find his hands around her neck. Marj Matchee said her husband
attributed his behavior to Lariam.
A formal inquiry into the incident concluded that no link to Lariam could be
established "without extensive further investigation."
U.S. Army officials said they never saw any problems among U.S. soldiers
taking Lariam in Somalia. The activist group Lariam Action said that it has
been contacted by 120 veterans of Somalia who said they continue to have
problems with the drug, including 11 who said they have considered or tried
suicide.
The wife of one veteran also wrote in an e-mail to the group that when her
husband returned from Somalia, "he would wake up in the night and choke me or
just about punch me, thinking I was someone from Somalia. He was extremely
angry all the time, and very abusive."
(With assistance from freelance writer J.S. Newton)
Copyright ? 2002 United Press International
Sempers,
Roger