Cross-sectional study of camelpox virus in the western and southern regions of Kazakhstan in 2021-2022 https://doi.org/10.12982/VIS.2026.075
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Abstract
Camelpox is a contagious disease of Old World camelids with limited prevalence data in Kazakhstan. This study determined camelpox virus (CMLV) prevalence and vaccination coverage in western and southern Kazakhstan in 2021-2022. Overall, 572 camels from 63 herds were sampled. Serum samples were tested for anti-CMLV antibodies by ELISA, blood and tissue samples were tested for CMLV DNA by PCR with sequencing of PCR-positive amplicons. The true adjusted animal-level seroprevalence in unvaccinated and vaccinated camels was 10.9% and 73.6%, respectively. All seropositive unvaccinated camels were from Atyrau oblast, where 30.8% (12/39; 95% CI: 17.0–47.6%) of unvaccinated herds contained at least one seropositive animal. CMLV DNA was detected in three (1.1%) unvaccinated seropositive camels from Atyrau oblast. Analysis of the complete C18L and ATI gene sequences revealed homology with the reference CMLV strain M-96 and high nucleotide identity (100% and 99.94%, respectively) with the CMLV strain isolated in Mangystau oblast in 2023. The findings indicate that a CMLV lineage – identical or closely related to strains documented in 1996 and again in 2023 in Mangystau oblast – was circulating in Atyrau oblast during 2021-2022. This suggests continued maintenance of the virus in western Kazakhstan and raises concerns about potential transboundary spread
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