Kenya Veterinary Board (KVB) has closed an agrovet in downtown Nairobi for violating a set of legal instruments used in the dispensing, control and management of drugs in the livestock sector.

Vetagro & Pulpers Agrovet located at Duruma Road Nairobi shall remain closed until the case of professional malpractice is heard and determined. Immediately after this move, the Board notified the public about the closure.

The agrovet was closed for dispensing the sensitive Prescription Only Medicines (POMs) to the public through the online platform jiji.co.ke and over the counter without keeping prescription files contrary to the provisions of the Veterinary Surgeons & Veterinary Paraprofessional (VSVP) Act, 2011(VSVP Act 2011), Code of Ethics 2015 and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) Regulations.

In a statement, Dr Mary Agutu (pictured), the Board’s Chief Executive Officer pointed out that the agrovet located on Duruma Road off River Road had acted contrary to the provisions of the VSVP Act 2011, its attendant regulations and Code of Ethics which led to its closure.’

“The Board wishes also to caution all holders of the practice License that they will be held individually responsible for any acts of commission or omission leading to detectable cases of malpractice and access of veterinary drugs by non-professionals,” she said in a statement yesterday following a joint inspection.

Category II drugs

Previously, she noted that some sensitive category I and Category II veterinary drugs have found their way to the public from such entities, and hence misused as sedatives.

“We have also noted that the Agrovet has been operated as a Veterinary Retail Shop contrary to the standards of the Wholesale License Issued by the VMD, and also functioning without a valid practice license issued by the KVB,” Dr Agutu said.

Dr Benson Kibore, the Board’s manager in charge of enforcement and compliance said the operation followed reports regarding malpractices involving drugs that are dangerous to the safety of the public.

“And for this case, it is mandated by the law that any premise that does the business of dispensing drugs must do so by writing with a prescription.

“So today in the morning we did an operation premised upon investigations that the Board has undertaken in which we found out that veterinary drugs are being sold online, including very sensitive drugs; the Category I and II veterinary drugs as per the VMD,” he told journalists after the operation.

He said the Board shall continue to carry out inspections and enforcement of relevant veterinary practice premises countrywide to ensure compliance with the VSVP Act, 2011.

In the VSVP Act, 2011, Sub-category IB, relates to other prescription only medicines, which are products intended for administration following a diagnosis or clinical assessment by a veterinary surgeon or dispensed by a veterinary surgeon or a person with equivalent qualifications.

The VSVP Act, 2011 outlines Category II veterinary medicines in respect of which special precautions shall be taken in order to avoid any unnecessary risk to the target species; the person administering them to the animal, and the environment; Provided that the requirement in this paragraph shall not apply if all the following criteria are met.