Vigilance for veterinary medicinal products: adverse reactions reported in 2018

Further increase in reports submitted

08.01.2020

A total of 329 reports of adverse reactions to veterinary medicinal products were received during 2018, representing an increase of 7.5% compared to the previous year. The majority of these reports related to reactions concerning companion animals (205 dogs and 77 cats). The number of reports relating to cattle and to horses was 27 and 9 respectively.

As in previous years, most of the reported reactions were linked to the use of antiparasitics (174 reports), hormone products (32 reports) and anti-inflammatory products (22 reports).

33 reports were generated from consultations with Tox Info Suisse in Zurich. These mainly involved the excessive intake of flavoured tablets and, in some cases, the use of products under the cascade regulation (applied to a species other than that authorised). Seven signals were identified from the reports, resulting in revisions of the product information in the sections addressing contraindications or adverse reactions.

Owing to the spontaneous nature of the reporting system, the reasons for the increase cannot be established. A spontaneous reporting system is subject to numerous factors – new authorisations, for example, or raising of awareness due to reports in social or other media. Therefore, the number of reports can be expected to vary in line within the usual fluctuation band. Pharmacovigilance for veterinary therapeutic products remains an important tool for improving safety in use. Every report submitted can prove decisive for this.