Investigation of Paenibacillus larvae subspecies larva of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in East Azerbaijan Province of Iran

BACKGROUND: The American foulbrood disease (AFB),caused by Paenibacillus larvae subsp. larvae, is one of themain plagues affecting honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies,and it has a high negative impact on beekeepers worldwide.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this research was to describe the evidenceof Paenibacillus larvae larvae contamination of honeybee colonies, in the East Azerbaijan Province. METHODS: Inthis study, samples from honey bee colonies of North West Iranwere studied for their respective ability to detect the presenceof bacterial contamination, using microbiological methods. Forthis purpose, 10 ml of the suspension from live bees, larva,honey, pollen and wax were incubated in modified MYPGPagar (Muller-Hinton broth-yeast extract-glucose-sodium pyruvateand PO4HK2) plates. Bacterial colonies were identified bycolony, bacteria morphology and biochemical tests for Paenibacilluslarvae larvae. RESULTS: The results of this study indicateda low level of contamination with Paenibacillus larvaelarvae in the East Azerbaijan Province. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion,the distribution of P.l.larvae spores in all samples ofthe East Azerbaijan Province, showed a clear pattern and mayprovide useful data for the control and prevention of Americanfoulbrood.

Keywords:

American foul brood (Paenibacillus larvae) , bee samples , honey samples , larva samples