What to do if you detect or suspect American foulbrood

American foulbrood (AFB) is an infectious notifiable disease of honey bee larvae and pupae. Infected bee colonies become weak and die. There is no treatment for AFB infected hives.

The use of antibiotics including Oxytetracycline hydrochloride ('OTC') for AFB is illegal in Victoria and is not an effective treatment. Early detection is important to reduce the risk of spread.

If you have, or suspect, AFB in your hive, you should contact an apiary officer (contact details are provided at the bottom of the page) to discuss next steps, which may include the following actions.

Confirmation of disease

Regular brood inspection should occur to detect signs and symptoms of pests and disease.

Some symptoms of AFB include:

• irregular brood pattern
• sunken caps of the cells
• some caps may be perforated.

Infected larvae change colour from a normal white to a light brown or coffee brown. The moist, brown, decaying remains of an infected AFB larva may be 'roped' out of the cell with a matchstick to 30mm or so.

This 'matchstick test' is an effective method of diagnosing AFB alongside honey tests and laboratory sampling.

Be conscious not to leave your infected AFB matchstick accessible to other bees. It may be better to simply leave it inside the AFB suspect/infected colony.

Honey testing and larval smears

Beekeepers can have honey tested to detect AFB spores by Gribbles Veterinary Pathology or any other National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accredited laboratory in Australia.

Honey culture tests (HCTs) are an effective tool that can detect early infections of AFB. Beekeepers are required to pay for their HCT.

Larval smears of suspect AFB cells can also be submitted to Gribbles Laboratory or any other NATA-accredited laboratory in Australia.

This is done by removing a single diseased or suspect honey bee larva (or remains) from its cell using a clean matchstick and smearing it on a labelled glass slide.

Laboratories that can provide honey culture testing and larval smear testing

Agriculture Victoria will accept honey culture tests and larval smear results from any NATA-accredited laboratory in Australia.

If you wish to use a laboratory that is not listed below, please contact an apiary officer by email  at honeybee.biosecurIty@agriculture.vic.gov.au to clarify if the test report can be accepted.

• Veterinary Sample Reception
  Gribbles Veterinary Pathology
  1868 Dandenong Road
  Clayton 3168

For information on fees for these diagnostic services, contact Gribbles directly on 1300 307 190. Staff will arrange for a honey test kit to be sent to you with instructions for submissions. Samples can either be posted back in the supplied post pack or dropped off at one of the many Australian Clinical Labs Collection Centres.

Notification

American foulbrood is a notifiable disease under the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994.

If you have or suspect AFB in your hive(s) you must notify an Agriculture Victoria apiary officer without delay.

Contact the Customer Service Centre on 136 186 or email honeybee.biosecurity@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Compensation

Beekeepers may be eligible to receive compensation if their bees or hives are destroyed or sterilised due to AFB.

To be eligible for compensation beekeepers MUST:

• be registered as a beekeeper under the LDCA
• notify an apiary officer without delay of the confirmation or suspicion of AFB in their hives
• be issued with a destruction order or disinfection notice from an apiary officer before then destroying or sterilising (disinfecting) bees or hive materials in accordance with the order or notice OR have bees destroyed by an apiary officer due to the presence of AFB
• apply for compensation using the prescribed form within 30 days of the destruction or disinfection.

Note that if a beekeeper undertakes destruction or disinfestation of bees or hive materials prior to notifying an apiary officer or receiving a destruction order or disinfestation notice, they will not be eligible for compensation.

Destruction of AFB-diseased hives

Please discuss this process with an Agriculture Victoria apiary officer prior to destruction.

Infected hives are destroyed by closing the hive entrance when the bees have stopped flying. Hives can then be destroyed to kill the colony of bees prior to burning, burying or irradiating the hive.

All diseased combs and hive components including bottom boards, lids and queen excluders not suitable for irradiation should be destroyed by burning or deep burial at an approved site.

Care should be taken not to spill honey and risk AFB exposure to robber bees.

Sterilisation (disinfection) of AFB hive materials by gamma or X-ray irradiation

Gamma and X-ray irradiation are safe and effective ways of sterilising (disinfecting) AFB infected hive components. Steritech Pty Ltd operates irradiation plants in Victoria and Queensland. The company should be contacted regarding details of price, protocols for presenting hives and for bookings.

Beekeepers should carefully consider the economic benefits of having materials irradiated (including the cost of travel and preparation of hive materials) in comparison to the destruction of the entire hive.

Steritech Pty Ltd (Dandenong)
160 South Gippsland Highway
Dandenong Victoria 3175
Phone: 1800 714 244

Steritech Pty Ltd (Merrifield)
21 Titan Drive
Mickleham 3064
Phone: 1800 724 244

Steritech Pty Ltd (Queensland)
180–186 Potassium Street
Naranggba QLD 4504
Phone: 1800 724 244

Extracting honey from AFB-infected hives

There is a major risk of spreading AFB if honey is extracted from infected hives.

If you wish to extract AFB infected honey, please discuss this with an apiary officer.

Next steps

After the initial clean up, all remaining hives should be inspected regularly (every four weeks, weather dependent) to detect any new AFB infection.

Honey samples should also be sent to 'Gribbles' Veterinary Pathology for testing. Barrier management is also an effective way to reduce the risk and spread of AFB and should be implemented.

Further information

If you require further information or assistance, please contact the Customer Service Centre on 136 186 or email honeybee.biosecurity@agriculture.vic.gov.au

More information can be found on Plant Health Australia Beeaware website.