Comparison of individual hive and apiary-level sample types for spores of Paenibacillus larvae in Saskatchewan honey bee operations.

ABSTRACT: Three commercial honey bee operations in Saskatchewan, Canada, with outbreaks of American foulbrood (AFB) and recent or ongoing metaphylactic antibiotic use were intensively sampled to detect spores of Paenibacillus larvae during the summer of 2019. Here, we compared spore concentrations in different sample types within individual hives, assessed the surrogacy potential of honey collected from honey supers in place of brood chamber honey or adult bees within hives, and evaluated the ability of pooled, extracted honey to predict the degree of spore contamination identified through individual hive testing. Samples of honey and bees from hives within apiaries with a recent, confirmed case of AFB in a single hive (index apiaries) and apiaries without clinical evidence of AFB (unaffected apiari

SUBMITTER: Zabrodski MW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8820611 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature