I've just had my invitation to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate/Veterinary Products Committee open meeting which is to be held on the 21st November at the AHVLA, Weybridge.

As with previous years the VMD has asked for ".....suggestions for topics to form the basis of its open meetings. Suggestions should be sent to Chris Abbott by 10 September 2012....the VPC will give a short presentation on pharmacovigilance, particularly needlestick injuries......advance questions should be sent to Chris Abbott at the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Woodham Lane New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey KT153LS, email openmeeting@vmd.defra.gsi.gov.uk."

I've already asked VMD for an update on registrations to its new Accredited Internet Retailer Scheme (AIRs). But if there's anything to do with veterinary medicines and the regulations that specifically affect you, you need to be thinking about it prior to September.

For anybody interested in needlestick injuries who doesn't know what they are. A needlestick injury is an injury caused by accidental self-injection that happens during the administration of a veterinary medicine.

The injuries that we typically worry about most are those caused by vaccines that contain an oil-based adjuvant. Historically most of these have been categorised POM(V) [i.e. vet only]. However many of these have historically also been administered by farm staff including staff who work on cattle farms, fish farms and poultry farms. The risk of such an injury is that if the needle goes into a part of the body where there's not much space, e.g. a finger. or possibly the palm of your hand, then the swelling caused can lead to the blood supply being cut off.

It will be interesting to see whatever numbers the VPC has on these.

More details available by clicking here.