BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1620425
This article is part of the Research TopicEpidemiology, prevention, and control of animal diseases in the “stan” countries of Central AsiaView all 5 articles
Molecular prevalence of Coenurus cerebralis in sheep exhibiting neurological symptoms in Kazakhstan
Provisionally accepted
Aigerim Kozhayeva1
Abzal Kereyev2
Alexandr Shevtsov3Bolat Abdigulov3
Darkhan Smagulov4Saltanat Khamzina5Botagoz Kulzhanova5Kulsara Nurzhanova1Lyaila Bupebayeva6
Aigerim Khamzina6*- 1Shakarim University, Semey, Kazakhstan
- 2Zhangir Khan West Kazakhstan Agrarian Technical University, Uralsk, Kazakhstan
- 3National Center for Biotechnology, Astana, Kazakhstan
- 4West Kazakhstan Innovation and Technological University, Uralsk, Kazakhstan
- 5LLP Scientific and Educational Center “Qazyna”, Almaty, Kazakhstan
- 6Kazakh National Agrarian Research University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
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Coenurosis, caused by the larval stage of Taenia multiceps — Coenurus cerebralis, is a severe parasitic disease that affects the central nervous system of sheep and causes significant economic losses in livestock farming. This study aimed to determine the molecular prevalence of Coenurus cerebralis in sheep with neurological symptoms in Kazakhstan using conventional PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. The study was conducted in the West Kazakhstan and Abay regions. However, insufficient data from other regions limits the development of effective national control measures. Of the 100 sheep examined, clinical signs of the disease were detected in 15 animals. During molecular analysis of the mitochondrial genes COX1 and NAD1, positive results were obtained in 9 samples (81%). The data obtained confirm the high diagnostic value of PCR and the effectiveness of mitochondrial markers for identifying C. cerebralis. The results contribute to a better understanding of the epidemiology and pathogenesis of cenurosis and can be used to develop effective strategies for the prevention and control of the disease in regions with developed sheep farming. Kazakhstani isolates are grouped within a single haplotype (Hap47), which belongs to a major, widely distributed lineage. This suggests potential links with other countries and may reflect historical migration patterns or species dispersal routes. Isolates from Italy, Turkey, and Iran also show a strong association with the principal haplotype lineages, indicating a shared genetic background.
Keywords: Coenurus cerebralis, Kazakhstani sheep, PCR, Sequencing, clinical, phylogenetic analysis
Received: 29 Apr 2025; Accepted: 10 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kozhayeva, Kereyev, Shevtsov, Abdigulov, Smagulov, Khamzina, Kulzhanova, Nurzhanova, Bupebayeva and Khamzina. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Aigerim Khamzina, Kazakh National Agrarian Research University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
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