Time to Implement Veterinary Pharmacovigilance Program in India

The safety of the drugs should be monitored and reported in the pharmacovigilance program through monitoring and coordination centers to the regulatory authority in India. International database management and efficient pharmacovigilance practices are critical to assessing the risk/benefit of veterinary medicinal products (VMP). However, India has no established government policies and systems to collect, analyze, and interpret the adverse effects of a drug/devices used in veterinary medicine through an organized Veterinary Pharmacovigilance (VP) program. Improper usage of drugs in animals affects the health and welfare of animals, resulting in antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, veterinary pharmacovigilance is essential to record and report the adverse drug reactions associated with VMP following animal use. It also helps understand the resistance, overuse, and abuse of certain medicinal drugs, including antimicrobials in animals. Strict and early implementation of this program will require enacting policies, guidelines, and strategies with adequate infrastructure facilities to improve the safety of the VMP concerning the health of animals, humans, and the environment. The government(s) must mitigate challenges associated with implementing the program for societal improvement. Though few published articles covered a similar subject, the implementation procedures, including methods and hurdles in implementing the program in real-world situations, are explained nowhere.