Danish Agriculture Research  - Project group beekeeping

by Camilla J. Brødsgaard and Henrik Hansen

American foul brood ( AFB)

AFB is a serious disease related to the brood of the honeybee. Bee families attacked will die out if no treatment is given. In Denmark is public treatment of the disease a must. The fight against the diseases is maintained by the Danish agriculture research organisation project group beekeeping

Lately there have been growing problems with AFB with climax of attacked bee yards in 2000 where 133 attacked yards was registered. In 1999 were registered 125 bee yards.The first was registered 01/11/2000. 

Since 1909 has AFB with success been handled with duple trnformation, which is a pure beekeeping technical treatment. . It has now shown that this treatment has little effect on families, which seems to have lost natural resistant against AFB. Those problems is now special seen in combination bees. The reason is obviously that the parameter for natural disease resistant has been omitted in this combination queen breeding and the bees also have been weakened because of Varroa attach. The Danish agriculture Research have now in cooperation with the Danish Beekeeper organisation started an investigation in selected Danish bee populations and their tolerance against AFB.

Beekeepers, who lives in areas with AFB must early in the beekeeping season be special focused on breakout of AFB and because of that examine the bee families. If AFB is suspected in a family the beekeeper is obligated to contact the local bee inspector or to send a sample of the brood 10x10 cm to the following address  Danmarks JordbrugsForskning, Projektgruppe Biavl, Forskningscenter Flakkebjerg, 4200 Slagelse (tlf. 58113511 kl. 8.30-13.30).

See the symptoms of AFB at:  Prevention and fight of the disease is pointed out in the directions of inspection and treatments of honeybee related diseases regulation