Genetic analyses of rabies virus glycoprotein and nucleoprotein gene sequences reveal the emergence of multiple lineages in animals in Arkhangai province, a central region of Mongolia.

Genetic characterizations of rabies viruses circulating in carnivore and non-carnivore animals were investigated for the first time in Arkhangai province, a central region of Mongolia. Also, glycoprotein gene of the rabies virus was sequenced for the first time in Mongolia. The nucleotide sequences of the glycoprotein and nucleoprotein genes were analysed, revealing the presence of multiple lineages in this area. Of particular concern are the lineages identified in carnivores, which might emerge to spread throughout Mongolia, further facilitating transboundary transmission to neighbouring countries, including China and Russia.

Molecular identification and risk factor analysis of the first Lumpy skin disease outbreak in cattle in Mongolia.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a transboundary viral infectious disease in cattle caused by a Capripoxvirus. LSD has been recently introduced in some Asian countries. However, in Mongolia, no report of LSD is publicly available. We clinically examined LSD symptoms in 1,034 cattle from 4 soum (district) in Dornod province in Mongolia. Sixty-one cattle of them were confirmed with symptoms of LSD and then viral P32 gene was detected by a PCR. The overall prevalence of LSD in cattle was 5.9%. Females odds ratios (OR)=2.27 than males, adults (>2.5-years-old, OR=3.68) than young (1-2.5-years-old) and calves (<1-year-old) were at higher risks for LSD cases in Mongolia, while locations near the tube well and pond water are major risk areas for viral transmission due to density of insects often is high. For virus isolation, skin nodule tissue samples of 4 cattle located in four distinct soums were used for viral propagation using the MDBK cell line. Internal terminal repeat region and RPO30 gene of 4 Mongolian isolates were amplified and sequenced. In the phylogenetic trees, Mongolian LSDVs (2021) were clustered together with the Chinese (2020) and Vietnamese isolates (2020). This is the first report alarming the LSD outbreak in Mongolia that was confirmed by our study. The newly isolated viruses would be a useful base for developing diagnostic tools and inactivated vaccine technology. A large-scale study of LSD is next priority for establishing successful control strategy of further disease outbreak.

Representative seroprevalences of human and livestock brucellosis in two Mongolian provinces.

Mongolia implemented a brucellosis livestock mass vaccination campaign from 2000 to 2009. However, the number of human cases did not decline since 2004 and the current epidemiological situation in Mongolia was uncertain. The objective of this study was to estimate the representative seroprevalences of humans and livestock in two provinces in view of their comparison with officially reported data. A representative cross-sectional study using cluster sampling proportional to size in humans, sheep, goats, cattle, yaks, horses, camels and dogs was undertaken to assess the apparent seroprevalence in humans and animals. A total of 8054 livestock and dog sera and 574 human sera were collected in Sukhbaatar and Zavkhan provinces. Human and animal sera were tested with the Rose Bengal and ELISA tests. The overall apparent seroprevalence of brucellosis was 27.3% in humans (95% CI 23.7-31.2%), 6.2% (95% CI 5.5-7.1%) in sheep, 5.2% (95% CI 4.4-5.9%) in goats, 16.0% (95% CI 13.7-18.7%) in cattle, 2.5% (95% CI 0.8-7.6%) in camels, 8.3 (95% CI 6.0-11.6%) in horses and 36.4% (95% CI 26.3-48.0%) in dogs. More women than men were seropositive (OR = 1.7; P < 0.0014). Human seroprevalence was not associated with small ruminant and cattle seroprevalence at the nomadic camp (hot ail) level. Annual incidence of clinical brucellosis, inferred from the seroprevalence using a catalytic model, was by a factor of 4.6 (1307/280) in Sukhbaatar and by a factor of 59 (1188/20) in Zavkhan. This represents a 15-fold underreporting of human brucellosis in Mongolia. The lack of access to brucellosis diagnostic testing at the village level hinders rural people from receiving appropriate treatment. In conclusion, this study confirms the high seroprevalence of human and livestock brucellosis in Mongolia. Stringent monitoring and quality control of operational management of a nationwide mass vaccination of small and large ruminants is warranted to assure its effectiveness. More research is needed to understand the complex animal-human interface of brucellosis transmission at different scales from farm to provincial level.