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Axe murder: Malaria drug blamed
25/04/2007 16:02 - (SA)
Cape Town - The serious side-effects of a popular anti-malaria medicine were listed on Wednesday in the trial of a man accused of murdering his gay lover with an axe.
Michael van Zyl, a B Sc graduate, has pleaded not guilty before Judge Daniel Dlodlo to the murder of estate agent Andre Weitz, at the latter's home at Thornton in Cape Town two years ago.
Dr Gert Muller, author of the text book South African Medicines Formula and a lecturer in medicine at the University of Stellenbosch, testified at the request of defence counsel Justin van Rensburg.
Van Zyl earlier told the court he had planned a trip to a malaria-infested part of KwaZulu-Natal and had taken Mefliam tablets a few days before the murder. 'Confused'
He claims the medication had left him confused, and unable to recall his attack on Weitz.
Muller told the court Mefliam was a Schedule 4 medicine, meaning it could only be obtained by doctor's prescription, not over the counter.
He said most medicine packages included an "insert" listing the dosage, what the medication was for, and the side-effects.
Some of the side-effects were aggression, agitation, anxiety, confusion, convulsions, depression and infections of the brain.
Others were forgetfulness, hallucinations, panic attacks, psychosis, paranoia and restlessness.
Rare cases of suicide had also been reported.
He said the psychiatric side-effects, although less common, were serious. Severe side-effects
"This is a medication that I do not prescribe any more for the prevention of malaria, due to the potentially severe side-effects."
He said Mefliam was nevertheless popular in the tourist industry, among people visiting malaria areas.
As dangerous as the medication was, there was a strong tendency among pharmacists to supply it over the counter, "because it's inconvenient for tourists to have to first obtain a prescription for it."
Questioned by prosecutor Quinton Appels, Muller said his expertise was to advise doctors about the use of medicines. The mental effects of medicines was the expertise of pathologists.
He agreed there was a difference between forgetting, and memory loss.
Muller said he was reluctant to commit himself on the possibility of memory loss as a side-effect, because this was not mentioned prominently in the insert.
The hearing continues on Thursday.
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