COVID-19 IN KAZAKHSTAN: EPIDEMIOLOGY AND CLINIC

Abstract

Introduction. Coronavirus infection 2019 (COVID-19) is a severe acute respiratory infection that causes coronavirus 2
and which causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) [1]. The virus was the first detected in December 2019
during an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown etiology in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China [2]. The outbreak quickly spread
outside of China, and on January 30, WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern and then officially
announced a pandemic on March 11, 2020 [3]. The disease named as COVID-19 and the pathogen named SARS-CoV-2 [4].
In Kazakhstan, the first cases of new coronavirus infection (CVI) recorded on March 13, 2020 in the cities of Almaty and NurSultan. These were imported cases from Germany and Italy.
Aim of research. To analyze the epidemiology of COVID-19 in Kazakhstan and the clinical manifestations of infection in
the East Kazakhstan region (EKR).
Material and methods: A retrospective study was conducted in Kazakhstan. The epidemiological data on the new CVI
were taken from the data of the Committee for Quality and Safety Control of Goods and Services of the Ministry of Health of
the Republic of Kazakhstan since January 2020. The case histories of patients with CVI hospitalized in the Semey Infectious
Disease Hospital were analyzed too. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was confirmed by the method of polymerase chain reaction
(PCR), which was carried out in a reference laboratory for especially dangerous pathogens (Ust-Kamenogorsk, Semey). The
conclusion of the ethics committee was not conducted, since the study was a retrospective analysis of data using descriptive
statistical analysis.
Results: In Kazakhstan, from the beginning of January, preventive measures began. They include 4 stages, such as
strengthening sanitary and epidemiological control at the state border, introducing laboratory diagnostics of a new infection,
approving the first clinical protocol for diagnosing and treating CVI and anti-epidemic measures. Passenger rail transport, air
traffic inside and outside the country were stopped, the development and implementation of a ranking methodology depending
on the risk of spread of coronavirus infection, as well as the introduction of monitoring of arriving people depending on the
country of arrival. To prevent the spread of the disease, a state of emergency and quarantine were introduced in the country. In
March, the registration of cases was mainly among contact and imported persons. In April, preventive testing began and an
increase in the incidence of CVI was associated with an increase in the volume of testing for coronavirus infection. In April-May,
66% were patients identified during screening. After the lifting of the state of emergency, quarantine restrictions remained with a
gradual relaxation depending on the epidemiological situation in the country and region.
Conclusion. In Kazakhstan, as in other countries, the incidence of COVID-19 is growing. Preventive measures play a
large role in the control of new coronavirus infection.