Pharmacovigilance in Veterinary Practice: Adverse Drug Event Reporting Among Practitioners in Rivers State

Pharmacovigilance, the systematic monitoring and reporting of adverse drug reactions, is a cornerstone of drug safety evaluation and rational therapeutics in both human and veterinary medicine. In Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has established a pharmacovigilance framework, but veterinary adverse drug event reporting remains poorly characterised. This study evaluated awareness and practices of pharmacovigilance among veterinary practitioners in Rivers State, South South Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was administered to 60 registered veterinarians and 30 veterinary technicians at private clinics, abattoirs, and government facilities in Port Harcourt and surrounding areas. Knowledge of adverse drug event reporting processes, experience with adverse events, and barriers to reporting were assessed. Only 26.7 percent of respondents correctly identified NAFDAC as the primary pharmacovigilance authority in Nigeria. Adverse drug events involving anaphylaxis, hepatotoxicity, and nephrotoxicity had been encountered by 58.9 percent of respondents, yet only 11.1 percent had ever submitted a formal adverse drug event report. Primary barriers cited included lack of awareness of reporting channels, perceived time constraints, and uncertainty about which events were reportable. Practitioners in private small animal practice were more aware of pharmacovigilance concepts than those in government livestock service. These findings highlight critical gaps in veterinary pharmacovigilance infrastructure in Rivers State and nationally, and support the need for targeted education, simplified reporting tools, and integration of pharmacovigilance into veterinary regulatory frameworks in Nigeria. Keywords: pharmacovigilance, adverse drug events, veterinary, Rivers State, NAFDAC.