PATHOGENS IN AFRICANIZED HONEYBEES FROM BRAZIL

Bee health is a growing global concern due to the decline of colonies that has been observed in many countries. Studies about pathogen detection in Brazil are important to understand the health status of Africanized honeybees in the country, and we aimed to evaluate the presence of pathogens in Africanized honey bees in Bahia, Brazil. We tested by PCR and RT-PCR a total of 180 A. mellifera colonies from 60 municipalities screening for 13 of the most common honeybee pathogens (fungi, bacteria, and viruses). We detected eight pathogens among 73% of our sampled honeybee colonies across Bahia state: Nosema ceranae (fungus), Melissococcus plutonius, Paenibacillus larvae (bacteria), and viruses acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV), black queen cell virus (BQCV), deformed wing virus (DWV), Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), and Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV). Nosema ceranae (fungus) was the pathogen most present in the samples (73%) followed by ABPV (55%) and both pathogens were also the most frequent among the samples. Multiple infections were in 58% of the samples and again N. ceranae and ABPV were the most prevalent pathogens. The Africanized honeybees from Bahia presented pathogens that can cause colony loss and further studies are necessary to evaluate the impact of those pathogens on Africanized honeybees and colony production.