Presence of Nosema ceranae in honeybees (Apis mellifera) in Uruguay

Distribution, epidemiological characteristics and control methods of the pathogen Nosema ceranae Fries in honey bees Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

“…Moreover, Klee et al (2007) reported that N. ceranae is a disease of global proportions detected in many parts of the world, including Europe, Africa, Asia, America and Oceania (Higes et al 2006, Calderón et al 2008, Giersch et al 2009b , Chen and Huang 2010. In South America, studies have confirmed the presence of N. ceranae in Brazil (Texeira et al 2013), Uruguay (Invernizzi et al 2009), Argentina (Plischuk et al 2009, Medici et al 2012 and Chile (Martínez et al 2012, Rodríguez et al 2012.…”

“…Its presence was detected recently in Uruguay, although it has not yet caused particular damage in that area and its impact is still unclear (Invernizzi et al 2009, Texeira et al 2013, probably due to the presence of a less virulent strain of the parasite or a resistant feature in the bees (Higes et al 2008, Vandame andPalacio 2010). It is therefore suggested that the parasite is more pathogenic in Europe than in North America , van Engelsdorp et al 2009, making it difficult to assess the real mortality in western colonies (Williams et al 2010).…”

Prevalence of Nosema species in a feral honey bee population: a 20-year survey

“…Interestingly, infection of workers by Nosema in Latin America is observed mostly in Africanized honey bees. However, that observation may reflect incomplete sampling, as most studies of nosemosis in Africanized honey bees in that region have been done in managed colonies (Calderón 2008;Invernizzi et al 2009;Rangel et al 2013;Mendoza et al 2014).…”

“…apis affects the western European honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) and is found worldwide (Matheson 1996). N. ceranae was first discovered in the Asian honey bee Apis cerana in 1996 (Fries 1996), was later identified in managed Apis mellifera colonies in Spain and Taiwan (Higes et al 2006;Huang et al 2007), and is now widespread in Europe (Higes et al 2006(Higes et al , 2009aChauzat 2007;Huang et al 2007Huang et al , 2008; Klee et al 2007;Paxton et al 2007;Topolska and S. Kasprzak 2007), North America (Chen et al 2008;Williams et al 2008;Traver and Fell 2011a, b), Central America (Calderón 2008; Rangel et al 2013), South America (Invernizzi et al 2009;Medici et al 2012;Mendoza et al 2014), Africa (Fries 2003;Higes et al 2009b), and Australia (Giersch et al 2009). While honey bee colonies infected with N. apis exhibit fecal streaking on the hives and comb due to severe dysentery (Hassanein 1951;Fries 1993), those infected with N. ceranae do not show obvious external symptoms.…”

“…Interestingly, infection of workers by Nosema in Latin America is observed mostly in Africanized honey bees. However, that observation may reflect incomplete sampling, as most studies of nosemosis in Africanized honey bees in that region have been done in managed colonies (Calderón 2008;Invernizzi et al 2009;Rangel et al 2013;Mendoza et al 2014).There have only been three studies reporting Nosema levels in unmanaged honey bees living as feral colonies in diverse habitats, and those three studies only reported N. apis infection. Manning et al (2007) reported high levels of N. apis infection in feral honey bee colonies around southwestern Australia from 2002 to 2003.…”