Disease known as “American brood rot”: symptoms and remedies

One of the most dangerous conditions affecting honey bee brood is American brood rot (AFB). This is due to the causative organism’s ability to produce resistant spores that can develop at any moment in neutral and inappropriate settings while also withstanding heat and drought. Programs to test bees have been developed in a number of developed nations in order to control this disease as a result of the significant epidemics of this disease in the past.

A bacterium known as Bacillus larvae, which attacks older larvae and immature pupae, which are being digested by an enzyme released by this bacteria, is the cause of this sickness. Affected people first change to brown, then to black, and finally to a solid mass on the side of the hexagonal eye.

Symptoms of American brood rot disease

1. The presence of a characteristic scent, frequently referred to as the glue pot or sour smell.

2 Compared to a healthy, sealed brood, an infected sealed brood has darker eyes.

3. The infection causes thick, black scales that are extremely difficult to remove from the eyes. These crusts, which are exclusive to this condition in particular and take the form of legs, heads, or teeth, are visible.

Even though it takes a lot of skill to diagnose American brood rot, a ropy test can provide a preliminary diagnosis. In this experiment, a tree branch is inserted into the cell, pulled out, and the infected larvae are seen emerging as a long thread or rope. You can also perform the Holst Milk Test, which involves mixing some of the larval scales with diluted sorted milk in a 1:5 ratio while maintaining the mixture at 37 °C. If these scales or larvae are used that are contaminated, the purity and clarity of the solution can be seen within a quarter of an hour Containing bacterial spores. This happens as a result of the enzyme’s action during the growth of bacteria and the sedimentation of the milk’s contents.

How American brood rot is spread?

American brood rot can be spread by consuming contaminated honey or pollen, using contaminated tools, employing package bees, or using infected queens, among other methods. Additionally, the sugar solution is necessary since the honey used for feeding comes from dubious sources can be fed to animals, which is always recommended.

How to avoid How American brood rot ?

To avoid any contamination within the colony, it is always advisable that the hive tools and the hands of the workers be as clean as possible. Additionally, it is advised to burn colonies affected with American brood rot disease as soon as its existence is identified because the illness germs persist for a very long time in full vitality. A fund might be established by the beekeepers’ association to provide compensation to beekeepers who were afflicted by the disease and burned the affected colonies. American brood rot disease is transmitted to larvae under 2.5 days old through contaminated food. The elder larvae are immune to illness. After the eyes are shut and over the final two days, the ideal death takes place the first of the pupa’s life and the first of the larva’s life. After the larvae and pupae die, new spores are produced.

How can American brood rot infection be prevented?

The globally approved antibiotics include oxytetracycline and Terramycin, which are mainly sold by vendors of veterinary supplies and are registered internationally. However, some people strongly oppose using medicines, despite the fact that many beekeepers do. While some wealthy nations implement antibiotic preventive programs, others choose to wait until symptoms show up before burning contaminated colonies and collecting compensation. They routinely administer these medicines to bees. Since antibiotics won’t work at this point, this procedure eliminates the disease reservoir that is the infected colony.
Antibiotics must be administered preventively and continuously rather than waiting for the disease’s symptoms to manifest since it acts to mask them and prevent their appearance, convincingly increasing the spread of the sickness.

 

Remedies: Treatment of American brood rot

In general, the following approach can be used to treat both American and European brood disease because they are both less virulent than American brood disease and infected cells are only burned in extreme cases.

Using Powdered Sugar

1- Combine 1/4 cup of 25-terramycin TM animal formula with 1 pound (0.45 kg) of finely ground sugar.

2. Use a flour strainer to sift the prior mixture.

3. Sprinkle the brood frames with 1/4 cup of the sifting mixture.

4- The medication is administered 3–4 times per week if the sick colony is located inside the apiary.

5- There must be a difference of at least one and this therapy is not done during the nectar flow Between the final treatment and the start of the nectar flow, there was a month.