mefloquine hydrochloride at a glance
Medicine class
Antiprotozoal antimalarial.
Licensed uses
Malaria prevention and treatment.
Administration
Swallow whole, preferably after a meal, with plenty of liquid.
Key safety check
Psychiatric history, seizures, liver disease and interacting medicines must be reviewed before prescribing.
What is mefloquine hydrochloride used for?
The selected product is licensed for:
Preventing malaria in travellers when mefloquine is appropriate for the destination and individual risk assessment.
Treating malaria, particularly Plasmodium falciparum infection resistant to other antimalarial agents.
Treating malaria caused by several blood-stage Plasmodium species; additional treatment may be needed to eradicate dormant liver forms after P. vivax infection.
How does mefloquine hydrochloride work?
Its precise molecular mechanism is not fully established. Mefloquine kills susceptible asexual parasite forms inside red blood cells. It does not eradicate dormant liver forms responsible for later P. vivax or P. ovale relapses.
mefloquine hydrochloride preparations and strengths
Tablet
Route: Oral
Strengths: 250 mg
How to take mefloquine hydrochloride
Follow the prescriber's instructions for the intended use. Swallow the tablet whole, preferably after a meal, with plenty of liquid; do not suck or chew it. Continue mosquito-bite precautions because no antimalarial provides complete protection.
Check the pack and travel plan before departure so missed or insufficient supplies can be addressed.
Seek medical assessment promptly if fever or flu-like illness develops during or after travel to a malaria-risk area.
mefloquine hydrochloride side effects
Common or expected effects
- Abnormal dreams or nightmares and insomnia
- Depression or anxiety
- Dizziness, headache or vertigo
- Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea or abdominal pain
- Visual disturbance
- Itching
Get urgent medical advice
- Suicidal thoughts, hallucinations, paranoia, confusion or other major mental changes
- Seizures
- Severe allergic reaction or blistering and peeling skin
- Palpitations or a markedly abnormal heartbeat
- New pain, burning, tingling, numbness or muscle weakness
- New visual loss or other significant visual disturbance
- Breathlessness, dry cough, fever or chest pain suggesting pneumonitis
- Jaundice or other signs of significant liver injury
mefloquine hydrochloride in pregnancy
Malaria can be especially dangerous during pregnancy, so travel to malaria-risk areas should preferably be avoided. Guidance allows mefloquine in pregnancy when a specialist risk assessment finds it the best option; available human evidence has not identified an increased fetal risk. Accidental exposure is not, by itself, a reason to end a pregnancy.
mefloquine hydrochloride while breastfeeding
Only small amounts appear in breast milk. The selected product information advises precautionary avoidance, while current malaria guidance states that experience suggests it is safe to use; a prescriber or travel-medicine specialist should assess the destination, malaria risk and alternatives. Maternal antimalarial use does not protect the breastfed infant from malaria.
mefloquine hydrochloride interactions
Review all prescription, non-prescription and travel medicines before mefloquine is supplied.
Halofantrine
Must not be combined with mefloquine or used during its prolonged elimination period because potentially fatal QT prolongation may occur.
Quinine, quinidine or chloroquine
Concurrent or closely sequenced use may increase cardiac conduction abnormalities or seizure risk and requires specialist management.
QT-prolonging medicines
Antiarrhythmics, beta-blockers, calcium-channel blockers, some antihistamines, tricyclic antidepressants and phenothiazines may add to cardiac conduction risk.
Common questions about mefloquine hydrochloride
Answers are fully visible for fast scanning and source review.
Can mefloquine hydrochloride affect mood or mental health?
Yes. Anxiety, depression, abnormal dreams and insomnia can occur, and rare serious reactions include hallucinations, paranoia and suicidal thoughts. New mental changes during prevention require stopping mefloquine and immediate medical review.
Who should not take mefloquine hydrochloride to prevent malaria?
It must not be used for prevention in people with current or previous specified psychiatric disorders or a history of convulsions. Other contraindications include relevant hypersensitivity, severe liver impairment, blackwater fever and prohibited halofantrine exposure.
Sources
These sources were used to prepare and review this medicine page.
Prepared and reviewed by the iatroX editorial team.