In the village of Tortkol, Bukhar-Zhyrau district, Karaganda region, a mass death of horses has been recorded. The authorities are not taking the seriousness of the situation seriously, reports press.kz.
Local residents, for their part, believe the horses have been struck by epizootic lymphangitis, otherwise known as African glanders. According to them, the animals die in agony from purulent sores that start on the legs and then spread throughout the body.
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For reference: equine epizootic lymphangitis is an inflammation or swelling associated with a disorder of the lymphatic system, particularly in the limbs.
Head of the regional veterinary department, Kairbek Tursynbekov, also commented on the matter.
"Samples were taken from the affected <...> heads showing characteristic signs of epizootic lymphangitis and delivered to the laboratory for testing. If confirmed, a quarantine will be imposed in the village. Sick or dead animals will be removed and destroyed," said Tursynbekov.
The akimat of the Karaganda region only mentions three horses suspected of having lymphangitis. They did not confirm any facts of livestock death. According to the district veterinary station, shortly before the incident, tests were taken from domestic animals in the village, but the disease was not detected.
For context, as of November 2023, the country had recorded 38 cases of anthrax in the Zhambyl, Akmola, and Karaganda regions and in Astana. The infections were linked to the involvement of sick people in the slaughter of infected animals and contact with raw meat.
Incidentally, in March 2015, while serving as Vice Minister of Agriculture, Gulmira Isaeva announced that over the following 7 years, the state planned to allocate 2.5 billion euros for the development of livestock farming. Of this amount, as Isaeva then emphasised, 2 billion euros were to be directed towards strengthening veterinary and phytosanitary safety.
However, to date, no tangible changes in the veterinary sector are evident. It is simply unclear what the at least 2 billion euros, which Ms Gulmira Isaeva mentioned, were used for.