Spring is a time of year when horse owners typically have their Veterinarian out for a Coggins test along with spring vaccinations. But what actually is a Coggins test and why are we required to do it?
A Coggins test is more than just a piece of paper that allows your horse to travel or allows you to board at someone’s barn. A Coggins test actually is a test for a disease called Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA). EIA is a disease that threatens the horse, donkey, and mule populations. While the majority of infected horses show no outward symptoms, they remain contagious for life and endanger the health of other horses around them. Due to this fact, horses testing positive must be euthanized or under quarantine for life. Sadly, there is no cure for EIA.
The EIA virus reproduces in white blood cells that circulate throughout the body. A horse’s immune system may attack and destroy red blood cells leading to anemia. Inflammation associated with viral infection may result in damaged vital organs (bone marrow, liver, heart, and kidney). Blood transmission is the primary route of infection can occur via bloodsucking insects (horse flies, deer flies, mosquitoes), blood transfusion, or by blood-contaminated needles and instruments. EIA can also be transmitted by blood or passage across the placenta directly to an unborn foal.
Equine Infectious Anemia may be difficult to diagnose because the clinical signs are non-specific. Clinical signs of EIA may include one or more of the following: Fever, depression, hemorrhaging on mucous membranes, swelling (legs, lower chest, abdomen), decreased appetite, fatigue, reduced stamina, weakness, rapid breathing, sweating, rapid weight loss, nasal bleeding, colic, abortion of foal, an irregular heartbeat, and/or a weak pulse.
Prevention is key in minimizing disease risk. Owners should test all horses for EIA annually, and at the time of purchase. Barn owners should require a current negative Coggins certificate for all new horses. EIA is typically spread by flies and mosquitoes, so it is important to keep all stable areas clean/dry. Regular removal of excess manure from the pasture and providing adequate drainage discourages pests looking for a breeding area.
How is Coggins testing done and recorded?
The only accurate way to determine whether a horse is infected with EIA is by identifying antibodies in the blood. The Coggins test is considered to be the “gold standard.” A negative Coggins test means there are no detectable antibodies at the time of testing.
When you schedule testing, Dr. Slamka will come out to draw a blood sample, then send it to Global Vet Link (GVL) for processing. The GVL animal health platform enables veterinarians, animal owners, and state animal health officials to quickly and accurately create and view digital Equine Infectious Anemia (Coggins) tests, by simplifying complicated regulatory processes, enabling faster sharing of results and records. By providing your e-mail address (the one you gave our office) when we send in the blood sample, you are now able to access your test results from any computer with internet access on the GVL website. It is important to note that the email address used to register for GVL must match the e-mail address we have on file. GVL is also where you will access health certificates.
How do you access your horses Coggins results?
1) Look in your inbox for an email from no-reply@globalvetlink that has “granting certificate access” in the subject line.
2) Click on the l
ink in the email and you will be directed to the Global Vet Link site where your email address will be pre-filled with the one our office has on file, and you can create a password to access your Coggin’s forms.
Can’t find the email?
1) Google “Global Vet Link” or put https://user.globalvetlink.com into your navigation bar.
2) On the login page, select “Create Account.”
3) On User Type page select “Animal Owner Account.”
4) Enter the email address that I send your invoices to, create a password (min 8 characters,) and Register.
5) Go to your email and open the Verification email from no-reply@globalvetlink and click on the verification link.
Written by Jillian Sommerfield, Feb 25th, 2021
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