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AMERICAN FOUL BROOD, APIARY - SOUTH AFRICA (04)
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A ProMED-mail post
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ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseasea
<http://www.isid.org>
Date: 2 Jul 2009
Source: Independent Online [edited]
<http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20090702052753432C162199>
Honey bee disease may be countrywide - survey
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Preliminary survey results of bee colonies released on Tuesday [30 Jun
2009] point to the unabated spread of a disease, American foul brood (AFB),
throughout the Western Cape and beyond.
AFB is an infectious disease found in honeybees which attacks their larvae
and is capable of destroying entire colonies in a year. Early results
showed that more than 80 per cent of the 45 samples tested came back
positive for the disease. Officials are still waiting for more than 450
samples to be tested.
"It's looking increasingly unlikely that eradication and containment will
be possible. It's looking increasingly likely that we have a region-wide,
even countrywide, problem," said Mike Allsopp, a honeybee researcher with
the Agricultural Research Centre (ARC) in Stellenbosch.
The search for the disease in all of the Western Cape and a part of the
Eastern Cape is being conducted by the Department of Agriculture in
partnership with the ARC and the South African Bee Industry Organisation
(Sabio). Officials expect to have the complete results in 2 weeks.
Chairman of Sabio in Cape Town, John Moodie, said: "The decision we have to
make now is whether to continue with the eradication process."
Burning infected hives is considered the best way to stop the spread of
AFB. Moodie estimates that 200 colonies with AFB have been destroyed so
far. Allsopp said that eradication is only a reasonable response if the
infection rate is under 60 per cent. "Otherwise, the economic and
environmental ramifications of destroying all those colonies are too
great," said Allsopp.
The rapid spread of AFB, which was found in South Africa for the 1st time
in February [2009], threatens more than just the honey-producing industry.
In 2008, a study for the National Agricultural Marketing Council estimated
that commercial honeybee colonies add between R400 million and R1.6 billion
[USD 50 570 000 - USD 202 280 000] in value each year to the deciduous
fruit tree industry.
[byline: Matthew Richmond]
--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail rapporteur Susan Baekeland
[For more information on American foul brood in South Africa, readers are
encouraged to see the moderator's comments on ProMED-mail post
20090419.1486. - Mod.TG]
[see also:
American foul brood, apiary - South Africa (03) 20090419.1486
American foul brood, apiary - South Africa (02): (WC) OIE 20090405.1309
American foul brood, apiary - South Africa: (WC) 20090403.1290
2002
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Foul brood, bees - USA (Virginia) 20020723.4842]
....................tg/ejp/sh
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