BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Virol.
Sec. Emerging and Reemerging Viruses
Volume 5 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fviro.2025.1582410
Virological surveillance of bats in Southern Kazakhstan
Provisionally accepted
Kobey Karamendin1*
Terirlan Sabyrzhan1
Aidyn Kydyrmanov1
Yermukhammet Kasymbekov1Yelizaveta Khan1
Sardor Nuralibekov1Simon Goodman2- 1Scientific and Production Center of Microbiology and Virology, Almaty, Kazakhstan
- 2School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, England, United Kingdom
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Bats are known as an important natural reservoir of many viral infections, from which transmission into the human population occurs. This article aimed to examine bats in Kazakhstan for possible circulation of viruses dangerous to humans and other animals. Two hundred sixty samples, including nasal and rectal swabs and blood sera, were collected from bats in southern Kazakhstan. Studies of the bat virome applying high-throughput sequencing revealed the presence of five large families: Circoviridae, Parvoviridae, Retroviridae, Adenoviridae, and Orthoherpesviridae. All of them were found in southern Kazakhstan from Myotis blythii adult individuals of both sexes. Genomic studies of bat herpesviruses have shown that they are potentially representatives of novel species, genetically different from existing ones. Their epidemic potential for humans and other animals requires further research. Serological studies for possible circulation of antibodies to coronaviruses and influenza A viruses have shown negative results, indicating the absence of antibodies in the tested samples. The results demonstrate the need for more profound research to identify the relationship between human and bat viruses in the future.
Keywords: BAT, virus, Metagenome, virome, Kazakhstan, next generation sequencing
Received: 24 Feb 2025; Accepted: 23 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Karamendin, Sabyrzhan, Kydyrmanov, Kasymbekov, Khan, Nuralibekov and Goodman. 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: Kobey Karamendin, Scientific and Production Center of Microbiology and Virology, Almaty, Kazakhstan
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