Four Categories of Viral Infection Describe the Health Status of Honey Bee Colonies.

Honey bee virus prevalence data are an essential prerequisite for managing epidemic events in a population. A survey study was carried out for seven viruses in colonies representing a healthy Danish honey bee population. In addition, colonies from apiaries with high level Varroa infestation or high...

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Main Authors: Esmaeil Amiri, Marina Meixner, Steen Lykke Nielsen, Per Kryger
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0140272&type=printable
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author Esmaeil Amiri
Marina Meixner
Steen Lykke Nielsen
Per Kryger
author_facet Esmaeil Amiri
Marina Meixner
Steen Lykke Nielsen
Per Kryger
author_sort Esmaeil Amiri
collection DOAJ
description Honey bee virus prevalence data are an essential prerequisite for managing epidemic events in a population. A survey study was carried out for seven viruses in colonies representing a healthy Danish honey bee population. In addition, colonies from apiaries with high level Varroa infestation or high level of winter mortality were also surveyed. Results from RT-qPCR showed a considerable difference of virus levels between healthy and sick colonies. In the group of healthy colonies, no virus was detected in 36% of cases, while at least one virus was found in each of the sick colonies. Virus titers varied among the samples, and multiple virus infections were common in both groups with a high prevalence of Sacbrood virus (SBV), Black queen cell virus (BQCV) and Deformed wing virus (DWV). Based on the distribution of virus titers, we established four categories of infection: samples free of virus (C = 0), samples with low virus titer (estimated number of virus copies 0 < C < 103), samples with medium virus titer (103 ≤ C < 107) and samples with high virus titer (C ≥ 107). This allowed us to statistically compare virus levels in healthy and sick colonies. Using categories to communicate virus diagnosis results to beekeepers may help them to reach an informed decision on management strategies to prevent further spread of viruses among colonies.
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spelling doaj-art-62d8828d51984bd1819fb5319a2d6ff22025-08-20T03:11:01ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-011010e014027210.1371/journal.pone.0140272Four Categories of Viral Infection Describe the Health Status of Honey Bee Colonies.Esmaeil AmiriMarina MeixnerSteen Lykke NielsenPer KrygerHoney bee virus prevalence data are an essential prerequisite for managing epidemic events in a population. A survey study was carried out for seven viruses in colonies representing a healthy Danish honey bee population. In addition, colonies from apiaries with high level Varroa infestation or high level of winter mortality were also surveyed. Results from RT-qPCR showed a considerable difference of virus levels between healthy and sick colonies. In the group of healthy colonies, no virus was detected in 36% of cases, while at least one virus was found in each of the sick colonies. Virus titers varied among the samples, and multiple virus infections were common in both groups with a high prevalence of Sacbrood virus (SBV), Black queen cell virus (BQCV) and Deformed wing virus (DWV). Based on the distribution of virus titers, we established four categories of infection: samples free of virus (C = 0), samples with low virus titer (estimated number of virus copies 0 < C < 103), samples with medium virus titer (103 ≤ C < 107) and samples with high virus titer (C ≥ 107). This allowed us to statistically compare virus levels in healthy and sick colonies. Using categories to communicate virus diagnosis results to beekeepers may help them to reach an informed decision on management strategies to prevent further spread of viruses among colonies.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0140272&type=printable
spellingShingle Esmaeil Amiri
Marina Meixner
Steen Lykke Nielsen
Per Kryger
Four Categories of Viral Infection Describe the Health Status of Honey Bee Colonies.
PLoS ONE
title Four Categories of Viral Infection Describe the Health Status of Honey Bee Colonies.
title_full Four Categories of Viral Infection Describe the Health Status of Honey Bee Colonies.
title_fullStr Four Categories of Viral Infection Describe the Health Status of Honey Bee Colonies.
title_full_unstemmed Four Categories of Viral Infection Describe the Health Status of Honey Bee Colonies.
title_short Four Categories of Viral Infection Describe the Health Status of Honey Bee Colonies.
title_sort four categories of viral infection describe the health status of honey bee colonies
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0140272&type=printable
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AT perkryger fourcategoriesofviralinfectiondescribethehealthstatusofhoneybeecolonies