Eight Years of Collaboration on Biosafety and Biosecurity Issues Between Kazakhstan and Germany as Part of the German Biosecurity Programme and the G7 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction

In 2013, the German Federal Foreign Office launched the German Biosecurity Programme with the aim to minimise risks associated with biological substances and pathogens. In this context, the German-Kazakh Network for Biosafety and Biosecurity was established in 2013 and constitutes a successful collaboration between Kazakh and German biomedical organisations, under the co-management of the Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology (IMB), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. Ever since then, a network of scientists, stake holders and policymakers has been established, aiming to work on highly pathogenic, potential biological warfare agents with the focus on biosafety and biosecurity, surveillance, detection and diagnostics, networking and awareness raising of these agents in Kazakhstan. Over the past 8 years, the project members trained four PhD candidates, organised over 30 workshops and trainings with more than 250 participants and conducted more than 5,000 PCR assays and 5,000 serological analyses for surveillance. A great success was the description of new endemic areas for Orthohantaviruses, the mixture of two Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus genetic clusters, new foci and genetic information on tick-borne encephalitis virus and rickettsiae in Kazakh oblasts. The latter even led to the description of two new genogroups. Furthermore, joint contributions to international conferences were made. In this report, we summarise the evolution of the German-Kazakh Network for Biosafety and Biosecurity and critically reflect on the strengths and possible weaknesses. We were able to establish a viable network of biosafety and biosecurity shareholders and to accomplish the aims of the German Biosecurity Programme to lower biosecurity risks by increased awareness, improved detection and diagnostic methods and surveillance. Further, we reflect on forthcoming aspects to lead this interstate endeavour into a sustainable future.

Occurrence of Anti-Rickettsia spp. Antibodies in Hospitalized Patients with Undifferentiated Febrile Illness in the Southern Region of Kazakhstan

Undifferentiated febrile illness still represents a demanding medical problem all over the world, but primarily in low- and middle-income countries. Scientific and clinical investigations related to undifferentiated febrile illness and rickettsial diseases in Kazakhstan are lacking. This study reflects the investigation of antibodies against spotted fever group (SFG) and typhus group (TG) rickettsiae in patients with undifferentiated febrile illness in the southern region of Kazakhstan (Almaty and Kyzylorda oblasts). Paired serum samples were gathered from 13 hospitals in these two oblasts and explored for the presence of IgM and IgG antibodies against typhus group and IgG antibodies against spotted fever group rickettsiae using ELISA. Patient's questionnaires were statistically analyzed. In total, 802 inpatients from Almaty (N = 9) and Kyzylorda (N = 4) hospitals were included in this research. Based on ELISA results, 250 patients out of 802 (31.2%) from both oblasts had IgG antibodies against SFG rickettsiae. Results from 11 (1.4%) patients indicated acute infection with tick-borne rickettsiosis. Regarding TG rickettsiae (R. typhi), a past infection was detected in 248 (30.9%) febrile patients and acute infection in 22 (2.7%) patients in the two selected oblasts. The data indicated that SFG and TG rickettsioses are present in Kazakhstan. Kazakh physicians should be aware of these emerging diseases in both investigated oblasts because the occurrence of these diseases is not suspected during day-to-day clinical practice. The identification of rickettsial pathogens and implementation of modern laboratory methods for the diagnostics of rickettsioses are in need throughout Kazakhstan.

Vectors, molecular epidemiology and phylogeny of TBEV in Kazakhstan and central Asia

BACKGROUND

In the South of Kazakhstan, Almaty Oblast' (region) is endemic for tick-borne encephalitis, with 0.16-0.32 cases/100,000 population between 2016-2018. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and circulating subtypes of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) in Almaty Oblast' and Kyzylorda Oblast'.

METHODS

In 2015 we investigated 2341 ticks from 7 sampling sites for the presence of TBEV. Ticks were pooled in 501 pools and isolated RNA was tested for the presence of TBEV by RT-qPCR. For the positive samples, the E gene was amplified, sequenced and a phylogenetic analysis was carried out.

RESULTS

A total of 48 pools were TBEV-positive by the RT-qPCR. TBEV-positive ticks were only detected in three districts of Almaty Oblast' and not in Kyzylorda Oblast'. The positive TBEV pools were found within Ixodes persulcatus, Haemaphysalis punctata and Dermacentor marginatus. These tick species prevailed only in Almaty Oblast' whereas in Kyzylorda Oblast' Hyalomma asiaticum and D. marginatus are endemic. The minimum infection rates (MIR) in the sampling sites were 4.4% in Talgar, 2.8% in Tekeli and 1.1% in Yenbekshikazakh, respectively. The phylogenetic analysis of the generated sequences indicates that TBEV strains found in Almaty Oblast' clusters in the Siberian subtype within two different clades.

CONCLUSIONS

We provided new data about the TBEV MIR in ticks in Almaty Oblast' and showed that TBEV clusters in the Siberian Subtype in two different clusters at the nucleotide level. These results indicate that there are different influences on the circulating TBEV strains in south-eastern Kazakhstan. These influences might be caused by different routes of the virus spread in ticks which might bring different genetic TBEV lineages to Kazakhstan. The new data about the virus distribution and vectors provided here will contribute to an improvement of monitoring of tick-borne infections and timely anti-epidemic measures in Kazakhstan.