Veterinary pharmacovigilance. Part 1. The legal basis in the European Union

UK veterinary professionals' perceptions and experiences of adverse drug reaction reporting

BACKGROUND

Spontaneous reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is the cornerstone of pharmacovigilance. Despite this, it is believed that there is significant under-reporting in the veterinary setting. Low reporting rates delay marketing authorisation holders (MAHs) and regulators taking mitigating action in the case of safety concerns.

METHOD

We designed a survey to explore the perceptions, attitudes and experiences of UK veterinary professionals towards ADR reporting. The survey was advertised widely through conventional and social media and at several conferences.

RESULTS

In total, 260 respondents completed the survey, including 210 veterinary surgeons, 49 veterinary nurses and one suitably qualified person. Respondents generally understood the need to report ADRs. The main barrier to reporting was the suspected ADR being well known, and the most popular potential facilitator identified was the ability to report via the practice management system. Facilitation via education in the form of a pharmacovigilance themed continuing professional development event was particularly popular among veterinary nurses, who reported time as being less of a barrier to reporting than their veterinary surgeon counterparts.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that technological interventions to facilitate reporting and empowerment of veterinary nurses to report through a tailored training event should be explored further.

Using economic and social data to improve veterinary vaccine development: Learning lessons from human vaccinology

The drivers of vaccine development are many and varied. They include, for example, recognition of the burden of a vaccine-targeted disease, prioritisation of the multiple problems associated with a disease, consideration of the differing socio-economic situations under which vaccines are used, the influence of advocacy groups, and assessment of the feasibility of large-scale vaccine manufacture and distribution. In the field of human health, data-driven development of vaccines is becoming increasingly common through the availability of reliable information on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) and stringent evaluations of vaccination programmes utilising empirical data on costing and effectiveness, and standardised cost-effectiveness thresholds. The data generated from such analyses allow policymakers, implementing partners, industries and researchers to make decisions based on the best, and most contextually relevant, available evidence. In this paper, we wish to explore the current use of economic and social data for the development of veterinary vaccines. Through comparison with the development of human vaccines, we will look for opportunities in animal health sciences to better integrate socio-economic data and analyses into the process of veterinary vaccine selection, development, and field implementation. We believe that more robust animal health impact assessments could add value to veterinary vaccine development by improving resource allocation and animal disease management.

Veterinary Pesticides

Veterinary pesticides are used to treat a range of parasitic conditions in companion and farm animals. These products are based on a number of different compounds with different modes of action and different spectra of toxicity. The older agents include the synthetic pyrethroids and organophosphorus compounds, while the newer examples include, for example, representatives of the insect growth promoters, the neonicotinoids, and the oxadiazones. For many of these compounds, toxicity is associated with their pharmacological activity or mode of action. Thus the synthetic pyrethroids and the organophosphorus compounds exert neurotoxic effects. For others, toxicity may be associated with mechanisms that are independent of their mode of action. When used according to the manufacturer's instructions, these products are generally safe and efficacious. However, accidental contamination and misuse can lead to toxicity in operators and treated animals. These compounds are important in the treatment of parasitic disease in animals and their regulation and uses are based on favourable risk-benefit outcomes.

Pharmacovigilance in veterinary medicine in Chile: a pilot study

Iragüen, D., Urcelay, S., San Martín, B. Pharmacovigilance in veterinary medicine in Chile: a pilot study. J. vet. Pharmacol. Therap.34, 108-115. In Chile, there is no present government policy to survey and analyse adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in the field of veterinary medicine. The intent of this study is to assess, for the first time, ADR frequency in treated animals. To this purpose, a 6-month period pilot study based on WHO recommendations was conducted to monitor ADRs in cats and dogs for frequently used drugs and common labelled signs. Of a total of 149 detected ADRs, 29 (6 in cats and 23 in dogs) were notified by means of ADR report forms, while the rest was identified after reviewing patient clinical records, thus evidencing strong under-reporting problems. More than 70% of ADRs were related to antimicrobials, vaccines and tranquilizers. In dogs, there was a significant effect on ADRs' presentation when acepromazine, amoxicillin, carprofen, ivermectin, sextuple vaccine (polyvalent vaccine that confers immunity against canine distemper virus, canine parvovirus, Leptospira canicola, L. icterohemmoragiae, canine adenovirus type 2 and canine parainfluenza virus) and phytomenadione (subcutaneous injection) were administered. In the case of cats, a significant influence on ADRs was detected when acepromazine, amoxicillin or vitamin K was administered. Present results suggest the need for a pharmacovigilance programme in veterinary medicine for timely ADR-presenting drug detection and drug safety improvement.

Veterinary pharmacovigilance. Part 2. Veterinary pharmacovigilance in practice -- the operation of a spontaneous reporting scheme in a European Union country -- the UK, and schemes in other countries

Veterinary pharmacovigilance, as it operates in the European Union (EU), covers a very broad remit, including adverse effects in treated animals, exposed humans and the environment, and in addition, it extends to cover the violation of maximum residue limits. The mainstay of veterinary pharmacovigilance is the spontaneous reporting scheme working along side other systems such as those reporting on residues surveillance. One of the most well established schemes in the EU is that operating in the UK and this paper examines the evolution of that scheme and some of its findings, data from other countries, and information available from the literature. It also tentatively examines the ways that pharmacovigilance can be used for regulatory purposes, and the contribution from pharmacoepidemiology.

Veterinary pharmacovigilance. Part 6. Predictability of adverse reactions in animals from laboratory toxicology studies

Toxicological studies are conducted on constituents of veterinary medicinal products for a number of reasons. Aside from being a requirement of legislation, they are carried out for predictive purposes in the assessment of user safety or for the determination of consumer safety, for example, in the elaboration of maximum residue limits or tolerances. Alternatively, the results of toxicology studies may be available as they have been generated for registration of the drug for human medicinal purposes. This paper examines if the results of such studies have any predictive value for adverse reactions, which might occur during clinical use in animals. A number of adverse reactions, notably the Type A (toxicology or pharmacology dependent) should be predictable from these laboratory studies. However, as with human pharmaceutical products, they have less utility in predicting Type-B reactions (idiosyncratic in nature).