This is a joint project between
Vita (Europe) Ltd, the National Bee Unit of the Central
Science Laboratory, York and Cardiff University with
the collaboration of the British Bee Keepers Association
and British Bee Farmers’ Association who have both
provided funding and without whose support the project
would not have been possible.
European foulbrood is a notifiable disease of honeybee
larvae caused by a bacterium. The application of an
old antibiotic, terramycin is the only current treatment
(besides burning). We are investigating a natural control
agent to replace this antibiotic and results so far
look
promising. However, we still have a long way to go
yet.
| Producing Healthy
Pollinators |
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For centuries the honeybee has been revered for its
industrious and highly social way of life and perhaps
more importantly for its production of honey and beeswax
for man to harvest. However, the role of honeybees as
pollinators of our crops and the knock-on benefits to
horticulture and agriculture as a whole are enormous;
we depend heavily on healthy honeybees in British and
indeed in global agriculture.
Unfortunately, like all livestock, honeybee colonies
can be susceptible to diseases — and there are
many — that can threaten the life of these beneficial
animals. Treatments are available for some of these conditions
but some, caused by bacteria are especially problematic.
European foulbrood (EFB) is a serious notifiable disease
caused by infection of young bee larvae with the bacterium
Melissococcus plutonius. The bacterium and other associated
organisms multiply rapidly and block the gut of the
larva, which dies from starvation. M. plutonius then
invades
the rest of the larval body causing the cadaver to
take a characteristic sickle shape and foul odour.
The only treatment currently available for EFB worldwide,
apart from hive destruction by burning, is an old antibiotic,
oxytetracycline. The increase in antibiotic residues
in hive products and the emergence of oxytetracycline-resistant
strains of M. plutonius in other parts of the world make
the search for an alternative all the more urgent.
At Cardiff University a non-pathogenic bacterium, Paenibacillus
larvae subsp. pulvifaciens (PLP) normally present in
beehives at low levels, was shown to produce natural
substances, which annihilate M. plutonius in laboratory
cultures. Further testing at the National Bee Unit, York
has given encouraging results of good tolerance in and
extremely low risk of toxicity to honeybees. This is
important, as honeybees can be incredibly sensitive to
certain compounds.
Little is currently known about the fate, distribution
or behaviour of bacteria in honeybee colonies so the
information derived from the project will be crucial
to effective control of such pathogens. More specifically,
we will be examining the effects on the disease of various
strains of PLP, dosage and application methods by testing
in the laboratory and in the field.
This natural agent could theoretically be used as a
remedial and/or as a prophylactic treatment. As the
preparation
will be applied to honeybees (livestock) it must first
be registered as a veterinary medicine and the process
of constructing the database has already begun.
PLP provides a natural method of treatment and control
of European foulbrood in honeybee colonies, which could
easily be applied by beekeepers. As an effective yet
natural and otherwise innocuous medicine it will replace
the current oxytetracycline treatment and its associated
problems, providing British agriculture with far more
healthy pollinators.
Foulbrood diagnosis: Visual diagnosis of Foulbrood is
not easy and can be time consuming. The most significant
symptom of EFB is the non-uniform colour change of the
larvae. They change from the usual pearly white to yellowish,
brown and finally greyish-black. Unlike larvae killed
by AFB, recently killed larvae rarely pull out in a ropy
string when tested with a matchstick.
In order to aid the ease and speed of diagnosis of foulbrood,
Vita (Europe) Limited have developed a simple and easy
to use field diagnostic kit. The simple test can be completed
in two minutes. – see Products section – Vita
Diagnostic Test Kit.
