Posted on 08/23/2002 6:50:29 AM PDT by Doc-Joe
(CBS) The Pentagon is considering sending a medical team to see whether there are any links between a series of domestic killings at Fort Bragg and an anti-malaria drug taken by soldiers.
Four wives of soldiers at Fort Bragg were killed in a six-week span this summer. Each death is blamed on the husband. Three of the four men were Special Operations soldiers who had recently returned from Afghanistan.
Two of the soldiers killed themselves after killing their wives.
The Special Ops soldiers reportedly all took Lariam, a drug given to troops serving in places - like Afghanistan - where the deadly mosquito-borne disease malaria is prevalent, CBS News Correspondent Cynthia Bowers reports.
The drug's manufacturer, Roche Laboratories, acknowledges reports of suicide and suicidal thoughts attributed to Lariam, also known as mefloquine. But company spokesman Terence Hurley said they are extremely rare, "only a small percentage of the more than 25 million people that have successfully used Lariam."
In a fifth domestic killing at the base, the wife of an Army Special Operations officer was charged in hier husbandj's shooting death last month.
"There's no reason to believe right now that Larium affected the behavior of the individuals," Army spokeswoman Elaine Kanellis said Wednesday.
But Jim Prietsch says investigators should look closely at Lariam, reports CBS News Correspondent Cynthia Bowers. During his 29 years at the State Department, Prietsch says he often took anti-malarial medications without incident, but when he switched jobs he was given Lariam for the first time. Within days he says the problems began.
"I have had to control rage. I have had urges that have gone from jumping out a window to stepping in front of a fast moving truck," Prietsch says.
And it's not just soldiers and diplomats taking Lariam. It's one of three anti-malarial drugs recommended by the government and is prescribed to nearly 400,000 American travelers every year – many of whom may not be aware of the potential risks.
Malaria is a serious, sometimes fatal, disease caused by a parasite that infects humans through mosquito bites. The World Health Organization estimates that perhaps as many as 500 million cases of malaria occur each year and more than 1 million people die of the disease worldwide.
Lariam is the malaria remedy of choice for soldiers because it is taken once a week instead of daily.
Only a small percentage of gunowners misuse guns, but that doesn't stop the gun-banners.
Selectively enforced zero-tolerance.
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