A Comparison of Different Matrices for the Laboratory Diagnosis of the Epizootic American Foulbrood of Honey Bees

American Foulbrood (AFB) of honey bees caused by the spore-forming bacterium is a notifiable epizootic in most countries. Authorities often consider a rigorous eradication policy the only sustainable control measure. However, early diagnosis of infected but not yet diseased colonies opens up the pos...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Veterinary sciences Vol. 10; no. 2; p. 103
Main Authors:	Ebeling, Julia, Reinecke, Antonia, Sibum, Niklas, Fünfhaus, Anne, Aumeier, Pia, Otten, Christoph, Genersch, Elke
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Switzerland MDPI AG 01-02-2023 MDPI
Subjects:	adult bees Air bases American Foulbrood Apis mellifera Bacteria Bacterial infections Beehives Beekeeping Bees brood comb honey Colonies Comparative analysis Diagnosis diagnostic Disease transmission Epidemics Health aspects hive debris Honey Honeybee Infections Laboratories Larvae Paenibacillus larvae Spores Surveillance Germany hive debris American Foulbrood adult bees diagnostic Paenibacillus larvae brood comb honey
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	American Foulbrood (AFB) of honey bees caused by the spore-forming bacterium is a notifiable epizootic in most countries. Authorities often consider a rigorous eradication policy the only sustainable control measure. However, early diagnosis of infected but not yet diseased colonies opens up the possibility of ridding these colonies of spores by the shook swarm method, thus preventing colony destruction by AFB or official control orders. Therefore, surveillance of bee colonies for infection followed by appropriate sanitary measures is a very important intervention to control AFB. For the detection of spores in infected colonies, samples of brood comb honey, adult bees, or hive debris are commonly used. We here present our results from a comparative study on the suitability of these matrices in reliably and correctly detecting spores contained in these matrices. Based on the sensitivity and limit of detection of spores in samples from hive debris, adult bees, and brood comb honey, we conclude that the latter two are equally well-suited for AFB surveillance programs. Hive debris samples should only be used when it is not possible to collect honey or adult bee samples from brood combs.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2306-7381 2306-7381
DOI:	10.3390/vetsci10020103