Veteran still battling feds over Mefloquine poisoning

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Dave Bona is nine years into his mission of raising awareness of Mefloquine toxicity among Canada’s military veterans.

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The 57-year-old from St. Denis, Sask., is a disabled veteran with severe Mefloquine poisoning from the anti-malarial medication who served with the Canadian Armed Forces for 14 years, including deployments to Somalia and Rwanda.

Bona said he saw a psychologist for 14 years, went through in-patient treatment care programs for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anger management, and alcohol abuse and said nothing worked. He said the drug caused him suicidal thoughts, seizures, anger, vertigo and other symptoms.

He is travelling across the country this month so that the government doesn’t forget about poisoned veterans and their families, and to help those affected navigate their illness.

“I’ve had no one reach out to me,” Bona said before hopping on a train to Montreal. “I’ve never had anyone from Veterans Affairs reach out to me. I’ve never had anyone from the Department of National Defence reach out to me.”

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Mefloquine’s short-term side effects can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, difficulty sleeping, and bad dreams. However, in a 2020 update, Canada’s Surgeon General said “more serious side effects such as anxiety, nervousness, and depression are rare, but can pose risks to a member’s long-term health.”

He began the protest in Vancouver on April 2 and also made stops in Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg where he sets up outside military recruiting centres or Service Canada buildings during the day. He also attends the nearest legion for a couple of hours to answer questions.

He was in Toronto on Monday protesting outside a Service Canada building in North York. He is also making a stop in Montreal on Wednesday before ending his advocacy in Ottawa for a week’s stay, hoping to get MPs on his side.

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Bona said what Veterans Affairs is doing right now is dangerous because the government agency is allowing retired military members to be diagnosed with PTSD due to Mefloquine poisoning.

“Veterans Affairs will only allow a person with a PTSD diagnosis (to receive) PTSD-specific treatments,” he said. “There is no treatment in the PTSD treatment protocol that is effective for (damage to) the brain stem. And that is what the injury is from Mefloquine. It’s permanent, it’s degenerative.”

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He said PTSD treatment is cheaper than what is needed for people suffering from the effects of the drug years later, including in some cases loss of balance, numbness and tingling, and gastrointestinal issues that affects serotonin levels, which regulates behaviour, mood and memory.

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According to Bona, people who had severe effects from Mefloquine are sometimes found in long-term care homes at a young age suffering from symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

And he accused Veterans Affairs of not wanting to take care of retired military members who are going through these illnesses.

“They want to throw us into the provincial health care system and literally handcuff the hands of the provincial health care system and then just let us waste years trying to meander through.”

Bona gets emotional when he says the most severe side effect of Mefloquine is suicide, especially when a person doesn’t receive the proper help and has no where else to turn to.

“You got this guy that’s been trying to get help. What’s going to happen when he gets no help? He’s going to kill himself. And this has happened again and again.

Bona said he had similar thoughts of suicide after not being able to receive the proper diagnosis following bouts of anger and rage until he was forwarded an article about the side effects of Mefloquine.

“I was getting ready to kill myself,” he said. “I was done. I couldn’t take the hurt my kids and family faced.”

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