test abeilles
New bee diseases
AMERICAN FOULBROOD
AFB is a notifiable disease in the European Union. It is a disease of sealed brood.
Etiological agent
AFB is caused by a spore-forming bacterium, Paenibacillus larvae. It is this ability of the bacillus to spore that makes the disease so resistant to disinfection.
Symptomatic criteria (suspicion):
- “Spotty” brood pattern / mosaic brood / scattered brood
- Ropy larvae (match test, viscosity)
- Specific odor of sick larvae
- Capping with different colour / dark sunken cell cappings/ holes in cappings
- Sticky scales
- Coffee brown colour of the larva
The laboratory
Location
The Sophia Antipolis laboratory is located in the South East of France, near the city of Nice, in the Sophia Antipolis scientific and economic cluster.
The PACA (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur) region is one of the main beekeeping regions of France because of its nectar-producing flora, both cultivated and wild (lavender-lavandin, thyme, rosemary, and heather). It is a honey producing region (high-quality honey which is exported all over Europe), as well as being a wintering region for the coastal colonies, due to the mild weather conditions that allow beekeeping to start very early in the season. Depending on the season, the laboratory is in the vicinity of over 50,000 bee colonies.
Main duties
The laboratory was founded in 1950. For over 60 years, bee disease has remained an important research subject for the laboratory. Current studies cover the major bee diseases, as well as their aetiology and transmission paths. The laboratory develops diagnostic tools and methods for characterising the main parasites and pests affecting bees, as well as certain pathogens (bacterial, fungal or viral). The laboratory cooperates both nationally and internationally with various research groups and conducts applied research activities in the bee health sector.
The laboratory holds several mandates:
- French National Reference Laboratory for bee diseases
- OIE reference laboratory for bee diseases
- Associated French National Reference Laboratory for pesticides
- European Union Reference Laboratory for bee health
Workshops Documents
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Bees Workshop
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The NRL network
The European Commission has designated the European Union Reference Laboratory for Honeybee Health (Commission Implementing Decision, 2011).
By law, the EU RL has to coordinate, in consultation with the Commission, the methods employed in the Member States (MSs) for diagnosing the relevant honeybee diseases, in particular by:
- typing, storing and, when appropriate, supplying strains of the pathogenic agents to facilitate the diagnostic service in the Union
- supplying standard material to the national reference laboratories (NRLs) in order to standardise the tests used in each Member State
- organising periodic comparative tests of diagnosis procedures at Union level with the NRLs
- retaining expertise on the Tropilaelaps mites and the small hive beetle (Aethina tumida)
- proposing standardised tests and procedures or reference reagents for internal quality control
- advising the Commission on scientific aspects related to honeybee health.
To date, the European network for Honeybee Health gathers 27 European national reference laboratories (NRLs). In addition to the European NRLs, other NRLs from Third Countries are involved in this network.
The coordination of the NRL network for Honeybee Health is an important task for the EU RL. The EU RL animates the network by organising an annual workshop to inform the NRLs on the achievement of the work program for the different activities and on the news related to honeybee health. This annual workshop is the opportunity to exchange information with the NRLs, to receive news from the partners (e.g.: needs of new pathogen leaflets, technical support, protocols, and/or reference material). To harmonise the methods ring tests /ILPTs (InterLaboratory Proficiency Tests) and trainings are organised. The EU RL submits regularly a questionnaire to the network to record updated data on NRL activities.
The EU RL feeds the sections of the present page with documents and information useful for the NRL network:
- Reference materials and methods
- Information on “Proficiency tests” and “Trainings for the NRLs"
- Leaflets.
In addition to this website, the animation of the network is continued through the dedicated email address. Please see “Contact us”.