Molecular epidemiological study of animal rabies in Kazakhstan

Rabies is a serious public health issue in Kazakhstan, with high economic impact and social burden.  As part of a routine surveillance, 31 rabies-positive brain specimens taken from livestock (cattle) and carnivores (dogs, foxes, and cats) during 2013–2021 were subject to viral sequencing.  Phylogenetic and Bayesian analysis were performed using obtained rabies virus (RABV) sequences.  All 31 strains of RABV candidate belonged to the Cosmopolitan clade, of which 30 strains belonged to steppe-type subclade, and 1 dog strain belonged to Other subclade.  The 31 strains did not diverge from RABV strains in Kazakhstan and neighboring countries, including Russia, Mongolia, and China, suggesting that animal rabies has close relationship and transmission between borders.  Fox-originated strains and cattle strains shared similar sequence signature, and some animal rabies cases had space–time intersection, showing that infected foxes were a major transmission source of cattle rabies in different Kazakhstan regions.  Besides, free-roaming dogs played a pivotal role in rabies epizootics of cattle in Kazakhstan.  The recent spread of animal rabies presents an increasing threat to public health, and provides updated information for improving current control and prevention strategies at the source for Kazakhstan and neighboring countries.     

Migration and accumulation of heavy metals in disturbed landscapes in developing ore deposits,East Kazakhstan

This paper studied the contents of heavy metals and their accumulation in the disturbed landscapes in ore deposits of East Kazakhstan. A total of 14 sites were examined in Zyrynovsky and Tishinsk deposits and Ridder town, and 50 soil samples were taken. Results indicated that the contents of heavy metals in the soil reached the maximum permissible concentration. Emissions of the zinc plant negatively affected the soil of nearby territories. In the remediated areas, a high concentration of heavy metals was observed at a depth where the bulk soil borders the rock. Accumulation of heavy metals on the surface of the remediated areas occurred due to biological accumulation in the plant. Plants transmitted heavy elements through the root system to the upper vegetative organs, making them accumulate in the upper layers of the soil. The heavy metals migrated and accumulated from the lower layers to the surface layers of the soil. The absence of soil meso-fauna resulted in the contamination of soil by heavy metals. The analysis of water samples, taken from the waste storages and the waste waters with heavy metals in the Zyryanovsk deposit and Ridder town, revealed severe water contamination.