Biosurveillance in Central Asia: Successes and Challenges of Tick-Borne Disease Research in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

Central Asia is a vast geographic region that includes five former Soviet Union republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The region has a unique infectious disease burden, and a history that includes Silk Road trade routes and networks that were part of the anti-p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in public health 2016-02, Vol.4, p.4-4
Main Authors: Hay, John, Yeh, Kenneth B, Dasgupta, Debanjana, Shapieva, Zhanna, Omasheva, Gulnara, Deryabin, Pavel, Nurmakhanov, Talgat, Ayazbayev, Timur, Andryushchenko, Alexei, Zhunushov, Asankadyr, Hewson, Roger, Farris, Christina M, Richards, Allen L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biosurveillance
Coxiella
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Public Health
Rickettsia
Tick-Borne Diseases
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Summary:Central Asia is a vast geographic region that includes five former Soviet Union republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The region has a unique infectious disease burden, and a history that includes Silk Road trade routes and networks that were part of the anti-plague and biowarfare programs in the former Soviet Union. Post-Soviet Union biosurveillance research in this unique area of the world has met with several challenges, including lack of funding and resources to independently conduct hypothesis driven, peer-review quality research. Strides have been made, however, to increase scientific engagement and capability. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are examples of countries where biosurveillance research has been successfully conducted, particularly with respect to especially dangerous pathogens. In this review, we describe in detail the successes, challenges, and opportunities of conducting biosurveillance in Central Asia as exemplified by our recent research activities on ticks and tick-borne diseases in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
ISSN:2296-2565
2296-2565
DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2016.00004