Lariam : Stromae assigns his martyrdom to the anti-malarial

Rich Fury/AP/SIPA

Published the 04.09.2017 to 18h49

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We are in 2015. Stromae is everywhere. Racine carrée, his second album, is a total success. All the same, Formidable and Papaoutai are the round-the-world, from Asia to the us charts, passing by Africa. And then suddenly, silence. Stromae does not dance more.

The rumours speak of burn-out, psychiatric problems, a crisis of success. But it seems that the reason of this withdrawal can be, at least in part, due to the side effects of an antimalarial drug, Lariam.

“I would have been able to do a bullshit”

Preparing a tour in Africa, the singer is seen prescribe this preventive treatment to base of mefloquine. But on the spot, in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo), it feels wrong. It is rushed and cancels a two-month tour.

“He suffered the serious side effects of a treatment prophylactic (preventive) antimalarial, which was in need of an update-hospital immediate, and requires a medical follow-up in the coming weeks “, said its producers in a statement.

“I thought I had tipped over into madness,” says Stromae, in an interview with the weekly Marianne. After 150 dates, I was flat. I have not supported my treatment anti-malarial, it has me spun hallucinations. I was diagnosed decompensation psychic. I would have been able to do a bullshit, I was no longer myself. “

Serious side effects, and long

These effects are known. In 2013, the Roche laboratory, and the MAN had sent a letter of information to health professionals to warn about the known side effects of Lariam. They reminded them of the contraindication for patients suffering or having suffered from psychiatric disorders.

They insisted particularly on neuropsychiatric disorders that can cause the prophylactic treatment. “Nightmares, anxiety aggravated, depression, agitation, mental confusion “, but also “cases of suicide, suicidal ideation and behavior endangerment of self” have been observed.

These effects can last. “Because of the long elimination half-life of mefloquine, three weeks on average, side effects may occur and persist up to several months after stopping the treatment, said the release. Cases of amnesia that can sometimes last more than three months have been reported. “