European foulbrood

Identity

Preferred Scientific Name

• European foulbrood

International Common Names

• English: EFB; European foulbrood disease; European foulbrood of honey bees

Pathogen/s

Overview

This datasheet is about European foulbrood (EFB) disease of honey bees as defined by the World Organisation for Animal Health, or OIE (OIE, 2013b), i.e. a disease of the larval and pupal stages of honey bees caused by the bacterium Melissococcus plutonius (formerly Melissococcus pluton or Streptococcus pluton). It is found on all continents where Apis mellifera is kept, and also affects A. cerana; it causes significant damage to the beekeeping industry, and is on the list of diseases notifiable to the OIE. The disease and pathogen are included in the Invasive Species Compendium because of the OIE listing.

Host Animals

Hosts/Species Affected

European foulbrood is a disease of honey bees (genus Apis) (OIE, 2013b) and has been reported from colonies of Apis cerana (Ansary et al., 2001; Rana et al., 2004) as well as A. mellifera (FAO, 2006).

Wardell (1982) reported that bee midgut pH may be a factor affecting disease incidence. Studies carried out in Michigan, USA, to investigate the high incidence of EFB in colonies taken to pollinate Vaccinium corymbosum found that midgut pH rose to 6.0-6.5 in larvae fed on blueberry pollen. This is the optimum pH for development of Streptococcus pluton [M. plutonius]; control was effective using a soyabean supplement with an acidifying agent. It was also found that blueberry pollen contained 10 times as much manganese as non-blueberry pollen, and contents of other minerals were also higher, although it is not known whether this is linked to EFB.

Distribution

European foulbrood disease is distributed worldwide (Forsgren et al., 2013) on all continents where Apis mellifera is kept; it also affects A. cerana (FAO, 2006). The Distribution table contains records only for those countries where records are readily available, so it should not be taken as an exhaustive list of where the disease is present.

Distribution Table

The distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.

Diagnosis

It is unreliable to identify the presence of European foulbrood (EFB) by signs of the disease in the field (OIE, 2013a). The most usual and obvious sign of EFB is larval death shortly before they are due to be sealed in their cells, but the cause of this can vary and is not necessarily EFB. Most infected colonies display few visible signs and in any case these often quickly subside before the end of the active season.

Diagnosis of EFB can be carried out by microscopy of suitable cultures, tube agglutination tests on the isolated bacterium, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and hemi-nested PCR. Hemi-nested PCR can be used to analyse larvae, adults and honey bee products (Djordjevic et al., 1998; McKee et al., 2003; OIE, 2013a).

Diagnosis of the disease is well-documented by the OIE Terrestrial Manual (OIE, 2013a), which should be consulted for techniques in the areas of microscopy, immunological and culture methods, and PCR.

Disease Course

As documented by the OIE (2013a), larvae that are infected, but not removed from the colony by nursery bees, become flaccid and light yellow, turning brown, and at the same time they decay into a semi-liquid mass. This then dries out, and forms a dark brown scale that is easily removed from the cells. Bee larvae usually die of this disease 1-2 days before being sealed in their cells, or occasionally shortly afterwards, but always before pupal development. However, Rana et al. (2004) found that Apis cerana larvae died at the prepupal-pupal stage.

Infected larvae die because they have been deprived of food by competition from the bacteria in their guts (FERA, 2013). A study by Kanbar et al. (2004) found that M. plutonius isolated from wounds of honey bee pupae caused by Varroa destructor produced a toxic compound, tyramine, and concluded that this was the causative agent of the observed toxic symptoms in bee larvae.

Epidemiology

The OIE (2013a) states that European foulbrood is most prevalent when colonies are growing quickly. Bee larvae usually die of this disease 1-2 days before being sealed in their cells, or occasionally shortly afterwards, but always before pupal development. However, Rana et al. (2004) reported a destructive foulbrood disease in Himachal Pradesh, India, which attacked native bees, Apis cerana, in March 2002-November 2003 and resulted in death of the brood at the prepupal-pupal stage (like Thai sacbrood virus/American foulbrood/ectoparasitic mite infestation rather than European foulbrood), but nevertheless was shown on isolation of the causative organism to be M. plutonius infection. Conventional treatment with oxytetracycline failed to control the disease in A. cerana colonies and so this disease was tentatively designated as ‘Cerana’ European foulbrood.

Nurse bees often detect sick larvae and remove them from the colony, but if the larvae go undetected, some may survive and develop through to adulthood. Defecation by these surviving larvae serves to propagate the bacteria because their faeces are infected (OIE, 2013a). Voiding of their gut contents at the time of pupation also contaminates the comb (FERA, 2013).

As documented by the OIE (2013a), larvae that are infected, but not removed from the colony by nursery bees, become flaccid and are light yellow, turning brown, and at the same time they decay into a semi-liquid mass. This then dries out, and forms a dark brown scale that is easily removed from the cells. If brood are severely affected, they may give off a very stale or sour odour, sometimes acidic. Contamination of the honeycombs enables the disease to persist from year to year (OIE, 2013a, b).

The disease can be spread by natural movement of bees, but the main cause of spread is the movement of bees and equipment by beekeepers (FERA, 2013).

Studies have implicated Varroa destructor as playing a role in European foulbrood infection (Kanbar et al., 2004). Bacteria isolated from wounds of honey bee pupae caused by V. destructor were found to be M. plutonius. The bacteria were grown to produce a toxic compound, tyramine. The authors stated that this indicated that tyramine is the causative agent of the observed toxic symptoms in bee larvae.

Impact

Economic Impact

Honey bees are important to agriculture and horticulture as pollinators, and European foulbrood is a very serious and infectious disease (FERA, 2013). The value of pollination is estimated to exceed the value of products from beehives many-fold (Delaplane and Mayer, 2000). Any disease that causes a significant decrease in honeybee population will have an adverse effect on the beekeeping industry and agricultural production.

Social Impact

The effect of European foulbrood outbreaks on honeybee health will also have a significant impact on honey products and thus the livelihood of beekeepers.

Environmental Impact

Impact on habitats

Bee decline will have a significantly negative affect on pollination in habitats that rely on these insects for development. The value of pollination is estimated to exceed the value of products from beehives many-fold (Delaplane and Mayer, 2000; Cuthbertson and Brown, 2006).

Impact on biodiversity

A decline in native bees, such as A. mellifera, due to the spread of European foulbrood, will have a negative effect on bee biodiversity; Cuthbertson and Brown, 2009).

Disease Treatment

In the UK at least, weak colonies infected with M. plutonius or those with a high proportion of diseased brood are usually destroyed, but lightly diseased colonies may in certain circumstances be treated with an antibiotic (FERA, 2013).

The use of antibiotics has been studied to control M. plutonius. Brazilian beekeepers were advised to use streptomycin in syrup after studies showed that while Streptococcus plutonius [M. plutonius] was resistant to terramycin, it was sensitive to streptomycin at concentrations over 50 μg/ml and to amplacylin at 2.5 μg/ml (Machado and Lemos, 1974).

In vitro tests using six antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, chlortetracycline, penicillin, oxytetracycline, cloxasillin [cloxacillin?] and tetracycline) against M. plutonius were carried out by Bahman and Rana (2003). They found that oxytetracycline was the most effective in inhibiting the growth of the bacterium. When this antibiotic was added to concentrated sugar syrup and used to treat a diseased colony, suppression of EFB was observed after the 8^th day of treatment. The treatment continued to be effective 6 months later.

Unfortunately the use of tetracyclines to control foulbrood can lead to traces of the antibiotic in honey. Bonta et al. (2007) determined a method for detecting residues in honey, using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection.

Other in vitro tests have looked at plant products, namely Ecophil-P and Green TM, for use against the causative agents of brood diseases, including M. plutonius. Gurgulova et al. (2008) reported that Ecophil-P had adequately-expressed antibacterial and antifungal activity against the microorganisms tested. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Green TM against M. plutonius, Paenibacillus larvae and P. alvei was comparatively low. The authors concluded with the recommendation that the investigated plant products were suitable for use in beekeeping.

M. plutonius was one of several bee disease and mycoses studied by Al’bert et al. (2002) in Belarus. They found that Bacillus cereus 494, B. subtilis 30043 and B. circulans showed the best probiotic properties.

Studies by Manning (2001) suggested that pollens with a high lipid concentration, dominated by linoleic, linolenic, myristic and dodecanoic acids, play a significant role in inhibiting growth of M. plutonius (amongst other spore-forming bacteria).

Wardell (1982) found that among larvae fed on blueberry pollen, which raises the pH in the midgut to the optimal level for development of M. plutonius, control was effective using a soyabean supplement with an acidifying agent, or terramycin extender patties, or both.

Recent research suggests that the ‘Shook Swarm’ method, in which the colony is transferred to entirely new uncontaminated combs in one operation, is very effective at combating EFB (FERA, 2013).

Integrated Pest Management using a variety of methods as appropriate is recommended by FERA (2013).

Prevention and Control

It is important that beekeepers are vigilant and learn to recognise the signs of foulbrood, and are careful not to risk introduction of the disease to their apiaries (Tomkies et al., 2009; FERA, 2013).

Spread between colonies can be restricted by quarantine systems and disinfection of equipment (FERA, 2013). Movement of bees and equipment from infected apiaries may be prohibited, for example in the UK (FERA, 2013). The OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code (OIE, 2013b) regulates the movement of bees, equipment and bee products from countries or zones where the disease is present -- adult bees must come from apiaries meeting certain conditions including an absence of local outbreaks, eggs, larvae and pupae must be inspected by a method in the OIE Terrestrial Manual (OIE, 2013a), equipment must be sterilised, and products must be sterilised or inspected.

Gamma radiation is used in the beekeeping industry to sterilize hive equipment contaminated with the causative agent of American foulbrood, Paenibacillus larvae. Although studies have shown that gamma radiation significantly reduced numbers of M. plutonius (Hornitzy, 1986), Hornitzy (1994) reported that combs exposed to up to 8 kGy of gamma radiation still contained viable M. plutonius and the dose required for decontamination has not yet been determined. Irradiation and treatment with sodium hypochlorite solution are both recommended for sterilization of equipment by the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code (OIE, 2013b).

Integrated Pest Management using a variety of methods as appropriate is recommended by FERA (2013).

(See also the 'Disease Treatment' section).

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Organisations

UK: British Beekeepers’ Association, National Beekeeping Centre, Stoneleigh Park, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, CV8 2LG, UK, www.britishbeekeepers.com

World: IBRA, International Bee Research Association, Unit 6, Centre Court, Main Avenue, Treforest, RCT, CF37 5YR, UK, www.ibra.org.uk

World: OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health), 12, rue de Prony, 75017 Paris, France, http://www.oie.int/

Contributors

23/03/2012: Original text by:

Dr Claire Beverley, CABI, Nosworthy Way, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8DE, UK.

Distribution Maps

• = Present, no further details
• = Evidence of pathogen
• = Widespread
• = Last reported
• = Localised
• = Presence unconfirmed
• = Confined and subject to quarantine
• = See regional map for distribution within the country
• = Occasional or few reports

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