Texas Equine Veterinary Association

www.texasequineva.com • Page 22 TAHC UPDATE: A P P R O V E D E Q U I N E I N F E C T I O U S A N E M I A LABORATORIES Have you been tracking changes affecting Approved Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) laboratories? United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services (VS), is in the process of revising the guidance document governing EIA laboratory approval. Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) has an integral role in the lab approval and review process, and I would like to take this opportunity to share information that I hope will be helpful to those of you operating EIA labs. All 457 approved EIA laboratories in the United States should have received material at the end of March/early April this year as part of the Proficiency Test packet from National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL). One very helpful document included in the packet was "EIA Lab Approval New Guidance coming FAQ." (please note a revised version of this document dated 16 May 2016 is now available). The actual guidance document, "VSG 15201.1 Approval of Laboratories to Conduct Tests for EIA" (formerly VS Memo 555.16) is still in the federal approval process. The projected publication date is this fall. Rather than attempt to cover the entire set of requirements, I would like to focus on a few of what seem to be key changes. One change is in the reporting of results. Approved EIA labs were already required to provide summary testing data on a monthly basis to TAHC. New requirements call for reporting the same data to VS, at the same interval, using a spreadsheet template they provide. TAHC will readily accept data in this format, so this change in reporting should be accomplished with minimal hassle to labs. While labs are required to retain the official test document (VS Form 10-11, or other form accepted by TAHC) for a prescribed time, I do want to mention there is no requirement to send copies of the test document to TAHC or VS offices. Another change in the approval process is moving from biennial to annual lab inspections and proficiency tests. TAHC may assist with or conduct some of the lab inspections, but this activity will primarily be carried out by VS personnel. Perhaps the biggest change, from TAHC's standpoint at least, deals with laboratory test volume. As a means of assuring proficiency, VS is adding a requirement that laboratories performing fewer than 500 EIA tests annually justify their approval/renewal to the VS Assistant District Director (AD) and State animal health official. In Texas, the AD is Mike Pruitt, DVM, and the State animal health official is the TAHC Executive Director. In preparation for implementation, Dr. Pruitt and I have discussed how we will approach this requirement. I think I can speak for both of us in that we are committed to carefully reviewing each laboratory's situation. I anticipate approval of labs passing proficiency tests and meeting all other program requirements, regardless of their test volume. Feel free to contact me or TAHC staff on this or any equine health related concern. We value our partnership with TEVA, and are seeking ways to further improve the service TAHC provides the Texas equine industry. Andy Schwartz, D.V.M. Executive Director and State Veterinarian Texas Animal Health Commission 2105 Kramer Lane Austin TX 78758-4013 Andy.Schwartz@tahc.texas.gov Office: 512.719.0715 Mobile: 512.940.9158 PDF of full guidelines available here: http://texasequineva.com/ usda-faq-laboratory-approval-to-conduct-eia-testing/

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