Why report adverse events in animals?
- Published: January 19, 2021
- Last updated: August 17, 2022
Reporting suspected adverse events provides the opportunity to detect new adverse events in animals and monitor already known adverse events.
Reporting of suspected adverse events is an important tool to identify and mitigate the risks of adverse events as quickly as possible. The more details contained within a report the better. If there are laboratory results, photographs, or a necropsy report, these should be attached. Contact information for the person reporting must always be included.
Authorisation and registration of veterinary medicinal products is preceded by extensive pharmacological and toxicological studies. However, only the most common adverse events are identified during pre-clinical and clinical studies. Uncommon adverse events, interactions, adverse events with delayed onset, batch related issues or specific events that arise in certain species or breeds, are often only detected when the product is used more extensively in clinical practice. It is, therefore, specifically important to closely monitor newly authorised medicinal products during the first years of their use.