The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) national equine infectious anemia (EIA) disease control program implemented the mandatory use of digital EIA test certificates (Coggins) on December 1, 2021.
The CFIA communicated this change to EIA accredited veterinarians and EIA approved laboratories earlier this year.
The current paper version of the single horse EIA test certificate (Form CFIA/ACIA 3937), will only be allowed in unique circumstances. The multiple horse test certificate (Form CFIA/ACIA 4679) will not be accepted as of December 1, 2021.
Many EIA accredited veterinarians already use a CFIA-approved digital EIA test certification system and, as a result, their clients will not notice any change when the mandatory policy goes into effect. For those horse owners whose veterinarian will be making the change to digital in the near future, it’s important to note the following:
• The actual EIA test has not changed
• The EIA test certificate will look a little different and include photographs of the horse instead of hand drawings
• You will be able to access the digital EIA test certificate online in real-time and when needed, a paper version can be printed off*
• Your veterinarian will need to take digital photographs of each horse the first time they are tested using a digital system. An exception to this would be if the horse’s appearance changes significantly since the original pictures were entered into the system.
• To ensure good quality photographs can be taken by your veterinarian, it will be important for the horse to be clean enough so that their markings are visible and they are located in a well-lit area.
*Do not photocopy printed versions of digital EIA test certificates. Specifically, only use the computer printed version for official purposes.
If you have any questions, please follow up with your accredited veterinarian or your local CFIA animal health district office.
(With files from CFIA and CAHSS)