ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1650186
Integrated Molecular and Serological Survey of Rhodococcus equi in Horses from Three Regions of Kazakhstan
Provisionally accepted
Makpal Zanilabdinkyzy Zanilabdin1
Gulnaz Duisekovna Ilgekbayeva2*Вauyrzhan Otarbayev2
Raikhan Nissanova3
Gulzhan Mussayeva4
Shinji Takai5
Yasunori Suzuki6Tsutomu Kakuda7Serikzhan Kurman2Yerken Kassymov2Bayan Azatovna Valiyeva2- 1Kazakh National Agrarian Research University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
- 2Department of biological safety, Kazakh National Agrarian Research University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
- 3Kazakh Scientific Research Veterinary Institute LLP, Almaty, Kazakhstan
- 4National Veterinary Reference Center, Almaty, Kazakhstan
- 5School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, Aomori, Japan
- 6Laboratory of Veterinary Hygiene, Institute of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, Japan
- 7Laboratory of Animal Hygiene, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, Towada, Aomori, Japan
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Rhodococcus equi is a facultative intracellular pathogen causing bronchopneumonia in foals; data from Central Asia are limited. We conducted a cross-sectional serological and molecular survey in horses from three regions of Kazakhstan (Kyzylorda, Almaty, Akmola). Sera from 312 animals (272 adults, 40 foals) on 20 farms were tested by indirect ELISA. Selected clinical samples underwent culture, PCR, and 16S rRNA sequencing. Overall seroprevalence was 8.3% (26/312; 95% CI 5.8– 11.9). Positivity among foals was 25.0% (10/40; 95% CI 14.2–40.2) versus 5.9% (16/272; 95% CI 3.7– 9.3) in adults, with farm-level clusters observed in the Almaty region. R. equi was isolated from three foals; a representative sequence was deposited (GenBank OP448586). Phylogenetic analysis placed the Kazakhstani isolate within a clade of equine-associated R. equi strains reported from Europe and East Asia (>99.5% identity). We provide molecularly confirmed evidence of R. equi circulation in horses from three regions of Kazakhstan, with higher seropositivity in foals and focal farm-level clustering. Findings support the need for broader geographic sampling, test validation against reference sera, and incorporation of management/risk-factor data. Limitations include the regional scope, small number of foals, and absence of environmental or human sampling.
Keywords: Rhodococcus equi, seroprevalence, Kazakhstan, zoonotic pathogen, phylogenetic analysis
Received: 20 Jun 2025; Accepted: 26 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zanilabdin, Ilgekbayeva, Otarbayev, Nissanova, Mussayeva, Takai, Suzuki, Kakuda, Kurman, Kassymov and Valiyeva. 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: Gulnaz Duisekovna Ilgekbayeva, gulnaz66@mail.ru
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