The VPIS Annual Report for 2019 is now available on our website.
We received 12,864 enquiries in 2019 comprising 10,163 Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS) enquiries and 2,701 Animal PoisonLine (APL) calls. Most enquiries involved dogs (85%) followed by cats (13%) and rabbits (1%).
The most common agents were non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), anticoagulant rodenticides, chocolate, xylitol and paracetamol. NSAIDs were the most common agent in dogs and cats. In dogs the other common agents were anticoagulant rodenticides, chocolate and xylitol but in cats the other common agents were quaternary ammonium compounds (such as benzalkonium chloride and didecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC) which are used as disinfectants and patio cleaners) and lilies.
In fatal cases in dogs, six cases involved fungi and there were three cases of tremorgenic mycotoxicosis, nine pesticide cases, five cases of plant poisoning, and two fatal cases involving food. One dog was euthanised after ingestion of raisins and one died after ingestion of coffee beans. Six cases involved drugs and there was one fatal adder bite and one case of palytoxin exposure.
In cats the most common agent involved in fatal cases was ethylene glycol (found in some antifreezes) which accounted for 45% of fatalities. There were no fatal feline cases of permethrin poisoning reported to the VPIS in 2019.
Read more and previous VPIS Annual Reports here.
