Monitoring of highly pathogenic avian influenza in kazakhstan

This article presents data from monitoring studies on avian influenza in the northern regions of Kazakhstan. Collection of samples from domestic and wild birds was carried out in the northern regions of the Kazakhstan. Detection and typing of the influenza virus was carried out by PCR and sequencing. The biological activity of the isolated viruses was determined on 9-10 day old developing chicken embryos. As a result of the research, it was found that the cause of illness and death of birds in the farms of the Akmola and North Kazakhstan regions in 2021 is an avian influenza. Influenza A/H5N8 virus was found in samples from poultry delivered from farms in Akmola (53.8%) and North Kazakhstan (16.7%) regions, as well as in a sample from a wild goose that lived on Lake Koybagar in Kostanay region. Influenza viruses isolated from wild and domestic birds are classified as subtype A/H5N8 to Clade 2.3.4.4b along the Eurasian line II (Eurasian HPAIV H5N8 Lineage II). The spread of avian influenza in the population of wild and domestic birds in the northern regions of Kazakhstan requires the veterinary services to take measures for developing effective control measures based on molecular epidemiology data.