The Prevalence of Pathogens among Ticks Collected from Livestock in Kazakhstan.

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: (28.08%), (21.28%), (17.18%), (2.01%), (3.35%), (0.33%), (12.87%) and (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), , , and ) were detected by PCR in , , , . The infection of ticks and collected on cattle in the West Kazakhstan region with LSDV was 14.28% and 5.71%, respectively. was found in the ticks (31.91%) in the Turkestan region and (52.63%) in the Zhambyl region. was found in ticks (7.32%) and (6.10%) from cattle in the Turkestan region. was isolated only from the species (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.