Identification and mapping of objects targeted for surveillance and their role as risk factors for brucellosis in livestock farms in Kazakhstan.

Objects for Targeted Surveillance (OTS) are infrastructure entities that can be considered as focal points and conduits for transmitting infectious animal diseases, necessitating ongoing epidemiological surveillance. These entities encompass slaughterhouses, meat processing plants, animal markets, burial sites, veterinary laboratories, etc. Currently, in Kazakhstan, a funded research project is underway to establish a Geographic Information System (GIS) database of OTSs and investigate their role in the emergence and dissemination of infectious livestock diseases.

Application of modern spatio-temporal analysis technologies to identify and visualize patterns of rabies emergence among different animal species in Kazakhstan.

During the period 2013-2023, 917 cases of rabies among animals were registered in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Out of these, the number of cases in farm animals amounted to 515, in wild animals to 50 and in pets to 352. Data on rabies cases were obtained from the Committee for Veterinary Control and Supervision of Kazakhstan, as well as during expeditionary trips.

Spatio-temporal clustering of African swine fever virus (Asfarviridae: ) circulating in the Kaliningrad region based on three genome markers.

Introduction: The rapid spread of African swine fever in the Kaliningrad region makes it necessary to use the methods of molecular epidemiology to determine the dynamics and direction of ASF spread in this region of Russia. The aim of the study was to determine single nucleotide polymorphisms within molecular markers , and of ASFVs isolated in Kaliningrad region and to study the circulating of the pathogen in European countries by subgenotyping and spatio-temporal clustering analysis.

Materials And Methods: Blood samples from living domestic pigs and organs from dead domestic pigs and wild boars, collected in the Kaliningrad region between 2017 and 2022 were used.

An Attenuated Vaccine Virus of the Neethling Lineage Protects Cattle against the Virulent Recombinant Vaccine-like Isolate of the Lumpy Skin Disease Virus Belonging to the Currently Established Cluster 2.5.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is an emerging transboundary and highly infectious viral disease mainly affecting cattle. The fact that it was initially confined to Africa and then spread beyond its geographical range to other regions, including the Middle East, Turkey, Europe, the Balkans, Russia and Asia, is an indication of the underestimation and neglect of this disease. Vaccination is considered the most effective way to control the spread of LSDV, when combined with other control measures.

A proposed update of African swine fever virus (genotype II) subgenotyping based on the central variable region (CVR) of Russian isolates.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) isolates are grouped and tracked through analysis of their central variable region (CVR) sequences. In this study, sequences of 70 ASFV isolates collected from different regions of Russia between 2018 and 2022 were analyzed. The analysis based on the CVR sequences indicated that the isolates belonged to three distinct groups.

Subclinical infection caused by a recombinant vaccine-like strain poses high risks of lumpy skin disease virus transmission.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a transboundary viral infection, affecting cattle with characteristic manifestations involving multiple body systems. A distinctive characteristic of lumpy skin disease is the subclinical disease manifestation wherein animals have viremia and shed the virus through nasal and ocular discharges, while exhibiting no nodules but enlarged lymph nodes that are easily oversighted by inexperienced vets. Further research on the role of subclinically ill animals in the transmission of LSD virus (LSDV) can contribute to the development of more effective tools to control the disease worldwide.

Metagenomic profiling of viral and microbial communities from the pox lesions of lumpy skin disease virus and sheeppox virus-infected hosts.

Introduction: It has been recognized that capripoxvirus infections have a strong cutaneous tropism with the manifestation of skin lesions in the form of nodules and scabs in the respective hosts, followed by necrosis and sloughing off. Considering that the skin microbiota is a complex community of commensal bacteria, fungi and viruses that are influenced by infections leading to pathological states, there is no evidence on how the skin microbiome is affected during capripoxvirus pathogenesis.

Methods: In this study, shotgun metagenomic sequencing was used to investigate the microbiome in pox lesions from hosts infected with lumpy skin disease virus and sheep pox virus.

Spatial and temporal patterns of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and the impact of environmental drivers in a border area of the Russian Far East.

Aims: Haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is a significant zoonotic disease transmitted by rodents. The distribution of HFRS in the European part of Russia has been studied quite well; however, much less is known about the endemic area in the Russian Far East. The mutual influence of the epidemic situation in the border regions and the possibility of cross-border transmission of infection remain poorly understood.

Genome sequence characterization of the unique recombinant vaccine-like lumpy skin disease virus strain Kurgan/2018.

In 2018, the molecular epidemiology of lumpy skin disease in Russia was characterized by a surge in novel recombinant vaccine-like strains causing outbreaks along the southern border, spreading in an easterly direction. Currently, five distinct novel recombinant vaccine-like lineages have been described, designated as clusters 2.1 to 2.

[Molecular and biological properties of the African swine fever virus (Asfarviridae: ) isolate ASF/Tatarstan 20/WB-12276].

Introduction: Up-to-date data and full characterization of circulating ASFV isolates play a crucial role in virus eradication and control in endemic regions and countries. The aim of the study was to evaluate and characterize the molecular and biological properties of the ASFV isolate ASF/Tatarstan 20/WB-12276, conduct phylogenetic analysis, and compare the results with isolates circulating in Europe and Asia.

Materials And Methods: For bioassay, eight heads of the Large White pigs weighing 15-20 kg/head were used.

Seroprevalence and risk factors of Peste des petits ruminants in different production systems in Uganda.

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a highly contagious and fatal disease of mostly domestic goats and sheep. First reported in Uganda in 2007, the extent of peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) exposure, geographical distribution and risk factors of its transmission and spread are not clearly understood. In this study, we used cluster random sampling methodology to select study villages from three districts representing three different production systems along Uganda's "cattle corridor".

Spatiotemporal Patterns of African Swine Fever in Wild Boar in the Russian Federation (2007-2022): Using Clustering Tools for Revealing High-Risk Areas.

African swine fever (ASF) is an infectious disease that affects both domestic pigs (DPs) and wild boar (WB). The WB population plays an important role in the spread of ASF as the WB acts as a natural reservoir of the virus and transmits it to other susceptible wild and domestic pigs. Our study was aimed at revealing the areas with a high concentration of the WB population, and their potential relationships with the grouping of ASF cases in WB during the course of the ASF spread in the Russian Federation (2007-2022).

Development and application of a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay to detect lumpy skin disease virus belonging to the Kenyan sheep and goat pox group.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) outbreaks in Southeast and South Asia are attributed to different lineages of LSD virus (LSDV). Variants belonging to the novel recombinant cluster 2.5 circulate in China and Thailand, while a Kenyan sheep and goat pox (KSGP) strain from cluster 1.

Comparison of Gross Pathology between Classical and Recombinant Lumpy Skin Disease Viruses.

The pathology caused by three different isolates of lumpy skin disease virus, classical field cluster 1.2 strain Dagestan/2015, recombinant vaccine-like cluster 2.1 strain Saratov/2017, and cluster 2.

Spatial patterns of tuberculosis in Russia in the context of social determinants.

Our study investigated the spatial distribution of tuberculosis and the influence of social determinants in Russia between 2006 and 2018 using the regional incidence of multi-drug resistance tuberculosis, HIV-TB coinfection, and mortality data. The "space-time cube" method identified the uneven geographical distribution of the tuberculosis burden. There is a clear distinction between a healthier European Russia, where a statistically significant stable trend towards a decrease in incidence and mortality was found, and the eastern part of the country, where there is no such trend.

Insights into the Molecular Epidemiology of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia in Terms of O/ME-SA/Ind-2001e Sublineage Expansion.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has long been recognized as a highly contagious, transboundary disease of livestock incurring substantial losses and burdens to animal production and trade across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Due to the recent emergence of the O/ME-SA/Ind-2001 lineage globally contributing to the expansion of FMD, molecular epidemiological investigations help in tracing the evolution of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) across endemic and newly affected regions. In this work, our phylogenetic analysis reveals that the recent FMDV incursions in Russia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan in 2021-2022 were due to the virus belonging to the O/ME-SA/Ind-2001e sublineage, belonging to the cluster from Cambodian FMDV isolates.

A Guide to Molecular Characterization of Genotype II African Swine Fever Virus: Essential and Alternative Genome Markers.

African swine fever is a contagious viral disease that has been spreading through Europe and Asia since its initial report from Georgia in 2007. Due to the large genome size of the causative agent, the African swine fever virus (ASFV), the molecular epidemiology, and virus evolution are analyzed by employing different markers. Most of these markers originate from single nucleotide polymorphisms or disparities in the copy number of tandem repeat sequences observed during the comparisons of full genome sequences produced from ASFVs isolated during different outbreaks.

Analysis of Avian Influenza (H5N5) Viruses Isolated in the Southwestern European Part of the Russian Federation in 2020-2021.

In 2021, several isolates of the H5N5 avian influenza virus (AIV) were detected in Europe and the Russian Federation, which differed from those detected in 2020. Genetic analysis revealed a relationship between the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N5 subtype, detected in Europe, and some isolates detected in the Russian Federation territory in 2020-2021: it was shown that both originated in the Caspian Sea regions around the autumn of 2020. The appearance of H5N5 subtype viruses in the spring of 2021 in Europe and the Russian Federation was not associated with the mass migration of birds from Africa.

Experimentally controlled study indicates that the naturally occurring recombinant vaccine-like lumpy skin disease strain Udmurtiya/2019, detected during freezing winter in northern latitudes, is transmitted indirect contact.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) caused by LSD virus (LSDV), is a member of the poxvirus genus . It is classified as a notifiable disease by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) based on its potential for rapid spread and global economic impact. Due to these characteristics, the mode of LSDV transmission has prompted intensive research efforts.

Capripoxviruses, leporipoxviruses, and orthopoxviruses: Occurrences of recombination.

Poxviruses are double-stranded DNA viruses with several members displaying restricted host ranges. They are genetically stable with low nucleotide mutation rates compared to other viruses, due to the poxviral high-fidelity DNA polymerase. Despite the low accumulation of mutations per replication cycle, poxvirus genomes can recombine with each other to generate genetically rearranged viruses through recombination, a process directly associated with replication and the aforementioned DNA polymerase.

Genetic characterization and epidemiological analysis of the first lumpy skin disease virus outbreak in Mongolia, 2021.

Novel lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) strains of recombinant origin are on the rise in South East Asia following the first emergence in 2017, and published evidence demonstrates that such genetic lineages currently dominate the circulation. Mongolia reported first LSD outbreaks in 2021 in a north-eastern region sharing borders with Russia and China. For each of 59 reported LSDV outbreaks, the number of susceptible animals ranged from 8 to 8600 with a median of 572, while the number of infected animals ranged from one to 355 with a median of 14.

Genetic characterization of sheep pox virus strains from outbreaks in Central Russia in 2018-2019.

This study investigates the phylogenomic relatedness between sheep pox viruses (SPPVs) circulating in Central Russia in 2018-2019 with the NISKHI vaccine strain used in the country, based on their complete genome sequences. The sheep pox outbreaks occurred 1 year apart in the adjacent regions of Tula and Moscow. Full genome sequences were generated by sequencing DNA directly obtained from Trizol-extracted scabs, using the DNBSEQ-400 platform (MGI Tech, China).

Coronavirus Infections in Animals: Risks of Direct and Reverse Zoonoses.

The publications on animal coronavirus infections that have the greatest emerging potential, as well as official data from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) on cases of animal infection with COVID-19, are analyzed. Like most infectious diseases common to humans, coronavirus infections were first discovered in animals. Due to the increased rate of replication and recombination activity compared to other viruses, mutations occur more often in the genome of coronaviruses, which contribute to the acquisition of new qualities in order to consolidate in the host organism.