High prevalence of Paenibacillus larvae, the pathogenic agent of American foulbrood disease, in Palestinian honey bee colonies.

ABSTRACT: The spore-forming bacterium Paenibacillus larvae causes a devastating brood disease of honey bees (Apis mellifera) named American foulbrood (AFB). It occurs worldwide and can lead to the death of whole colonies. Presence and prevalence of this pathogen in Palestine were unknown. Therefore, for two consecutive years, a field survey was conducted to screen Palestinian beekeeping locations for P. larvae. Honey samples were collected from 10 colonies each of eight apiaries throughout the West Bank in spring, summer, and fall. The presence of the bacterium was identified microbiologically, via PCR and DNA sequencing. Bacterial genotypes were analysed by repetitive element-PCR fingerprinting using ERIC primers. We unexpectedly detected spores in 87.5% of the inspected apiaries, 22.3% of 130 insp

SUBMITTER: Alqurneh M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12816049 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature