Toxicovigilance is the process of identifying and evaluating the risks of

poisoning Poisoning is the harmful effect which occurs when Toxicity, toxic substances are introduced into the body. The term "poisoning" is a derivative of poison, a term describing any chemical substance that may harm or kill a living organism upon ...

that exist within a community, and proposing and evaluating measures taken to reduce, eliminate or manage them. More specifically, the goal of toxicovigilance is to identify specific circumstances or agents giving rise to poisoning, or certain populations suffering a higher incidence of poisoning. This way, emerging toxicological issues can be revealed, such as the reformulation of a chemical product or a change to its packaging or labelling, the spread of a new

illegal drug The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances. An area has a prohibition of drugs when its government uses the for ...

, or a hazardous

environmental contamination Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

. Once an issue has been identified, appropriate health and other authorities can be alerted so they can take the necessary preventive, repressive or regulatory measures. The practice of toxicovigilance often involves the registration of cases of poisoning by

health professional A health professional, healthcare professional (HCP), or healthcare worker (sometimes abbreviated as HCW) is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a Nursing, nur ...

s, or the analysis of enquiries made to

poison control center A poison control center is a medical service that is able to provide immediate, free, and expert treatment advice and assistance over the telephone in case of exposure to poisonous or hazardous substances. Poison control centers answer questions ...

s. Because of this, practising toxicovigilance is often one of the core tasks of a poison control center. There is an overlap between toxicovigilance and for example

pharmacovigilance Pharmacovigilance (PV, or PhV), also known as drug safety, is the pharmaceutical science relating to the "collection, detection, assessment, monitoring, and prevention" of adverse effects with pharmaceutical products. The etymological roots ...

environmental health Environmental health is the branch of public health concerned with all aspects of the natural environment, natural and built environment affecting human health. To effectively control factors that may affect health, the requirements for a hea ...

. They are all are aspects of the broader concept of

public health surveillance Public health surveillance (also epidemiological surveillance, clinical surveillance or syndromic surveillance) is, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), "the continuous, systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of health-rela ...

References

{{Reflist Poison control centers Toxicology Medical monitoring

See also

References