In 2015, more than 200,000 saiga antelopes died in 3 weeks in central Kazakhstan. The proximate cause of death is confirmed as hemorrhagic septicemia caused by the bacterium Pasteurella multocida type B, based on multiple strands of evidence. Statistical modeling suggests that there was unusually high relative humidity and temperature in the days leading up to the mortality event; temperature and humidity anomalies were also observed in two previous similar events in the same region. The modeled influence of environmental covariates is consistent with known drivers of hemorrhagic septicemia. Given the saiga population’s vulnerability to mass mortality and the likely exacerbation of climate-related and environmental stressors in the future, management of risks to population viability such as poaching and viral livestock disease is urgently needed, as well as robust ongoing veterinary surveillance. A multidisciplinary approach is needed to research mass mortality events under rapid environmental change.

Brucellosis is one of the most important and widespread bacterial zoonoses worldwide. Cases are reported annually across the range of known infectious species of the genus Brucella. Globally, Brucella melitensis, primarily hosted by domestic sheep and goats, affects large proportions of livestock herds, and frequently spills over into humans. While some species, such as Brucella abortus, are well controlled in livestock in areas of North America, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem supports the species in native wild ungulates with occasional spillover to livestock. Elsewhere in North America, other Brucella species still infect domestic dogs and feral swine, with some associated human cases. Brucella spp. patterns vary across space globally with B. abortus and B. melitensis the most important for livestock control. A myriad of other species within the genus infect a wide range of marine mammals, wildlife, rodents, and even frogs. Infection in humans from these others varies with geography and bacterial species. Control in humans is primarily achieved through livestock vaccination and culling and requires accurate and rapid species confirmation; vaccination is Brucella spp.-specific and typically targets single livestock species for distribution. Traditional bacteriology methods are slow (some media can take up to 21 days for bacterial growth) and often lack the specificity of molecular techniques. Here, we summarize the molecular techniques for confirming and identifying specific Brucella species and provide recommendations for selecting the appropriate methods based on need, sensitivity, and laboratory capabilities/technology. As vaccination/culling approaches are costly and logistically challenging, proper diagnostics and species identification are critical tools for targeting surveillance and control.

Samples collected for PCR from recipient animals tested positive in 5 out of 6 cases, while the virus was isolated from 4 of 6 animals. The clinical signs exhibited by recipient animals were mostly moderate in nature with only one severe case. To our knowledge, this is the first time that transmission of LSDV by three Stomoxys species has been demonstrated, and their role as mechanical vectors of LSDV is indicated.

This study provides biochemical and molecular genetic characteristics of P. multocida isolated from dead saigas in 1988, 2010–2015 on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Bacteriological samples taken from carcasses of saiga antelope during mortality events recorded in West Kazakhstan in both 2010 and 2011 and in Kostanay in 2012 and 2015 confirmed the presence of P. multocida, according to morphological and biochemical characterisation. Only in the event of 2015 was the agent proven to be the causative agent of the disease observed, haemorrhagic septicaemia. In the other mortality events it is not certain if the organism was a primary aetiology or an incidental finding as confirmatory pathological investigation was not undertaken. The implemented phylogenetic analysis of ribosomal RNA 16S gene allowed us to identify Pasteurella strains isolated in 2010–2015 as P. multocida subspecies multocida. Capsular typing by PCR showed that the studied strains isolated from dead saiga in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015 belonged to serotype B. MLST analysis showed that these strains of P. multocida are of the capsule type B and form one clonal grouping with isolates ST64, ST44, ST45, ST46, ST44, ST47 which isolated from cases of hemorrhagic septicemia of animals in Hungary, Burma, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Spain. Sixteen virulence genes of the five strains of P. multocida, isolated from saigas were studied using multiplex PCR. ptfA, ompA, ompH, oma87, plpB, fimA, hsf-2, pfhA, exbB, tonB, hgbA, fur, nanB, nanH and pmHAS genes were detected in all strains. The toxA gene was not identified in the studied strains. The phylogenies of these isolates is compared across saiga populations and years and the 2015 isolate was compared to that of an isolate from a disease outbreak in 1988 and the findings suggest that these isolated bacteria are stable commensals, opportunistically pathogenic, being phylogenetically uniform with very little genetic variation notable over the last 4 decades. Isolation, phenotypic and genetic characterization of the P. multocida isolates inform understanding of the epidemiology of infection in saigas and predict virulent potential of these opportunistic bacteria.

Ticks carry and transmit a wide variety of pathogens (bacteria, viruses and protozoa) that pose a threat to humans and animals worldwide. The purpose of this work was to study ticks collected in different regions of Kazakhstan for the carriage of various pathogens. The collected ticks were examined by PCR for the carriage of various pathogens. A total of 3341 tick samples parasitizing three animal species (cattle, sheep and horses) were collected at eight regions of Kazakhstan. Eight tick species were found infesting animals: Dermacentor marginatus (28.08%), Hyalomma asiaticum (21.28%), Hyalomma anatolicum (17.18%), Dermacentor reticulatus (2.01%), Ixodes ricinus (3.35%), Ixodes persulcatus (0.33%), Hyalomma scupense (12.87%) and Hyalomma marginatum (14.90%). Ticks collected from livestock animals were examined for the pathogen spectrum of transmissible infections to determine the degree of their infection. Four pathogen DNAs (lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), Coxiella burnetti, Teileria annulata, and Babesia caballi) were detected by PCR in Dermacentor marginatus, Hyalomma asiaticum, Hyalomma scupense, Hyalomma anatolicum. The infection of ticks Dermacentor marginatus and Hyalomma asiaticum collected on cattle in the West Kazakhstan region with LSDV was 14.28% and 5.71%, respectively. Coxiella burnetti was found in the ticks Dermacentor marginatus (31.91%) in the Turkestan region and Hyalomma anatolicum (52.63%) in the Zhambyl region. Theileria annulata was found in ticks Hyalomma scupense (7.32%) and Dermacentor marginatus (6.10%) from cattle in the Turkestan region. Babesia caballi was isolated only from the species Hyalomma scupense (17.14%) in the Turkestan region. There were no PCR-positive tick samples collected from sheep. RNA/DNAs of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), African swine fever virus (ASFV), Hantavirus hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), and chlamydia pathogens were not found in ticks. The new data give a better understanding of the epidemiology of tick-borne pathogens and the possibility of the emergence of tick-borne animal diseases in Kazakhstan.