The occurrence of Melissococcus plutonius in healthy colonies of Apis mellifera and the efficacy of European foulbrood control measures

Budge, Giles E.; Barrett, Ben; Jones, Ben; Pietravalle, Stéphane; Chantawannakul, Panuwan; Thwaites, Richard; Hall, J.; Cuthbertson, Andrew G. S.; Brown, Mike

doi:10.1016/j.jip.2010.06.004

Cited by 66 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…In this study only one colony was positive for the causative agent of European foulbrood, a disease sometimes linked to stress [47], and this was a managed colony. The prevalence of EFB is low in the UK [48], so the small sample size makes it impossible to draw any meaningful conclusions about the true level of foulbrood infection in the UK's feral colonies. However, we can conclude that the sampled feral population contained many of the parasites commonly found in managed populations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parasite Pressures on Feral Honey Bees (Apis mellifera sp.)

et al. 2014

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Feral honey bee populations have been reported to be in decline due to the spread of Varroa destructor, an ectoparasitic mite that when left uncontrolled leads to virus build-up and colony death. While pests and diseases are known causes of large-scale managed honey bee colony losses, no studies to date have considered the wider pathogen burden in feral colonies, primarily due to the difficulty in locating and sampling colonies, which often nest in inaccessible locations such as church spires and tree tops. In addition, little is known about the provenance of feral colonies and whether they represent a reservoir of Varroa tolerant material that could be used in apiculture. Samples of forager bees were collected from paired feral and managed honey bee colonies and screened for the presence of ten honey bee pathogens and pests using qPCR. Prevalence and quantity was similar between the two groups for the majority of pathogens, however feral honey bees contained a significantly higher level of deformed wing virus than managed honey bee colonies. An assessment of the honey bee race was completed for each colony using three measures of wing venation. There were no apparent differences in wing morphometry between feral and managed colonies, suggesting feral colonies could simply be escapees from the managed population. Interestingly, managed honey bee colonies not treated for Varroa showed similar, potentially lethal levels of deformed wing virus to that of feral colonies. The potential for such findings to explain the large fall in the feral population and the wider context of the importance of feral colonies as potential pathogen reservoirs is discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The 5′-terminal reporter dye for each TaqMan probe was 6-carboxyfluorescin (FAM) and the 3′ quencher was tetra-methylcarboxyrhodamine (TAMRA) or Minor groove binding (MGB) as indicated.1-[49].2-[1].3-[48].4-[50].5-[51].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parasite Pressures on Feral Honey Bees (Apis mellifera sp.)

et al. 2014

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“…The detection of pathogens before any clinical signs of disease to be visible in the colony would not only control these diseases but also the prevention of their consequences for the hive. That is, M. plutonius was detected in healthy colonies by RT-PCR in England and Wales, showing that the extent of the prevalence of this pathogen in hives goes beyond the clinical signs [157].…”

Section: Detection Of Honeybee Pathogens In Honeymentioning

confidence: 99%

Microorganisms in Honey

Silva¹,

Rabadzhiev²,

Eller³

et al. 2017

Honey Analysis

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Honey is a product with low water activity because of the great amount of sugars (fructose and glucose), and also it has antimicrobial compounds derived from flowers or because of its transformation process in the beehive. Despite all the honey microorganism barriers, some species of microorganisms are able to survive and may cause damage to honeybees or consumers. Techniques of pathogenic microorganism identification by DNA using PCR are recommended and required for sanitary and customs control. It is important to know the diversity of contaminating microorganisms in honey, especially due to disseminate pathogenic microorganisms in the international traded marketing. In contrast, beneficial microorganisms such as yeasts can remain latently in this product waiting for the moment in which the environment is suitable for their development. Among the beneficial bacteria found in honeybee products, we can mention some lactic acid bacteria that act as prebiotics when ingested. The microorganisms in the digestive tract of honeybees are important for their health. Thus, we present the knowledge of microbiota associated with honey from honeybees and stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae) and the techniques available for the detection of microorganisms in honey.

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“…An alternative treatment is shook swarm; this involves the transfer of only the adult bees from diseased combs to fresh disease-free equipment, in order to separate the bees from the disease and avoid total colony destruction. This method has been considered to be comparable to the use of OTC in recent years [17–19]. As with any farmed species, the destruction of animals is always the last resort where all other measures are insufficient to halt the continued spread of the disease.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling the spread of American foulbrood in honeybees

Datta

Bull

Budge

et al. 2013

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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We investigate the spread of American foulbrood (AFB), a disease caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae, that affects bees and can be extremely damaging to beehives. Our dataset comes from an inspection period carried out during an AFB epidemic of honeybee colonies on the island of Jersey during the summer of 2010. The data include the number of hives of honeybees, location and owner of honeybee apiaries across the island. We use a spatial SIR model with an underlying owner network to simulate the epidemic and characterize the epidemic using a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) scheme to determine model parameters and infection times (including undetected ‘occult’ infections). Likely methods of infection spread can be inferred from the analysis, with both distance- and owner-based transmissions being found to contribute to the spread of AFB. The results of the MCMC are corroborated by simulating the epidemic using a stochastic SIR model, resulting in aggregate levels of infection that are comparable to the data. We use this stochastic SIR model to simulate the impact of different control strategies on controlling the epidemic. It is found that earlier inspections result in smaller epidemics and a higher likelihood of AFB extinction.

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The occurrence of Melissococcus plutonius in healthy colonies of Apis mellifera and the efficacy of European foulbrood control measures

Cited by 66 publications

References 29 publications

Parasite Pressures on Feral Honey Bees (Apis mellifera sp.)

Parasite Pressures on Feral Honey Bees (Apis mellifera sp.)

Microorganisms in Honey

Modelling the spread of American foulbrood in honeybees

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