AFB in West Lothian

[gavin]

This note is currently being sent round the SBA and local association contacts, and has also been posted on the 'Disease' pages of the main SBA website where Al has also lodged a copy of the Scottish Government News Release.

G.

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AFB in West Lothian

This afternoon a prominent commercial beekeeper called myself and Nigel Hurst as a representative of the Edinburgh and Midlothian Beekeepers' Association to spread the word that AFB had been detected in his bees today. Tonight a Scottish Government representative also called to say that the case has now been confirmed. This extends the known area with AFB cases to the Lothians, particularly the eastern half of West Lothian, and is a potent reminder to beekeepers anywhere in Scotland that searching for brood diseases is essential. Although AFB cases are destroyed by law, early detection can save it spreading through apiaries. AFB manifests itself as dead larvae in capped brood cells and the ropiness test with a match or twig is diagnostic for this disease. The disease will also kill young larvae and can be spotted in vacated brood comb by the persistent thickening along the lower wall of a cell from a dried-down infected larva.

At this stage we do not know whether this is an isolated case, perhaps caught by these bees on heather sites elsewhere, something that may be found more extensively in the coming fortnight as this beekeeper's other bees in additional apiaries in the area are inspected, or something that has arrived in his bees from other infected bees in the Lothians.

The beekeeper concerned has not asked for anonymity, and thought that one of his first actions should be to inform the beekeeping community, aware that the inspectorate can take some time to fully confirm the case and to promulgate news of it. In fact the Scottish Government have acted quickly to confirm the case and have already been informing beekeeping organisations prior to a press release which should be available tonight.

Beekeepers in the area may like to carefully inspect their bees now, reporting any suspicions to the inspectors, and if not already signed up to BeeBase Scotland, let the inspectors know of their bees in the area via this email address or by contacting an RPID office:

BeesMailbox@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Beekeepers should be aware that this disease spreads via swarms, robbing of weakened or dead colonies, honey, exchanges of equipment and on beekeeping gloves and tools, but it does not spread as readily and as quickly as EFB.