Two consultant psychiatrists yesterday told the trial of a father accused of murdering his infant son that the man was suffering from schizophrenia when he grabbed his baby by the feet and struck his head against a wall.
Defence lawyers in the trial of Mr Yusif Ali Abdi also suggested that the anti-malaria drug, Lariam, which he had been prescribed in the months previously, was a factor in the killing.
The head of pharmacology at UCD, Prof Michael Ryan, told Mr Tom O'Connell SC, defending, that there was "very extensive scientific literature" showing that the drug mefloquine, sold under the trade name Lariam, had severe neuro-psychiatric side-effects. The British Medical Council had issued warnings about it and its manufacturer, Roche Pharmaceutical, had also warned that severe neuro-psychiatric reactions, including psychosis, were rare but could occur. Roche had said psychological disturbance could continue "long after use of the drug was discontinued", Prof Ryan said.
He said that in September 2000, Roche Pharmaceuticals issued additional warnings in the US. It warned of side-effects including "hallucinations and psychotic behaviour".
Prof Ryan said the British Medical Journal had reported that the neuro-psychiatric side-effects of the drug were "more common than previously thought". One in 140 of those taking it experienced temporary neuro-psychiatric side-effects sufficient to prevent them carrying out their daily activities.
Mr Yusif Ali Abdi (30), a refugee from Somalia, with an address at The Elms, College Road, Clane, Co Kildare, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of the murder of his 20-month-old son, Nathan Baraka Andrew Ali, on April 17th, 2001.
Mr Ali Abdi was prescribed Lariam in December 2000 and took one tablet a week for five weeks. He had also been prescribed anti-depressants. He has told his trial that he suffered from "flashbacks", "hallucinations" and "voices in his head" in the months before the killing, and that on the night he took his son from his bed and swung his head against a kitchen wall, a voice in his head had commanded him to "take him, take him" and "hit him, hit him".
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Brian McCaffrey told the trial that the accused "fits perfectly" into the World Health Organisation and US classifications for schizophrenia.
Dr McCaffrey said he was not sure of Lariam's significance to the case. Lariam was first manufactured for US troops returning from Vietnam and Cambodia with drug-resistant malaria, he said.
He told Mr Tom O'Connell SC, defending: "I don't know enough about Lariam and I think nobody knows, but it has to be considered a big suspect in triggering off an already underlying psychiatric illness."
Also in evidence yesterday, Dr Andrew Washington Burke, a consultant psychiatrist based in St George's Hospital, London, said Mr Abdi was suffering from "an abnormality of the mind" at the time of the killing.