Prevalence of Nosema ceranae in apiculture regions of Bahia State, Brazil

Abstract

Nosemosis is an important bee disease that is caused by microsporidia fungi of the Nosema genus, whose main etiological agents are Nosema apis and N. ceranae, both of which are found worldwide. In Brazil, the disease has been reported in several states but little is known about its occurrence and distribution in Bahia. This study identified the occurrence and distribution of nosemosis and its agents, N. apis and N. ceranae, in Apis mellifera L. bees collected from apiaries in the state of Bahia, Brazil. A total of 154 bee samples were collected and analyzed from 20 apiaries in six regions of the state. The hives sampled were evaluated for signs of the disease from December 2015 to July 2018. Molecular diagnosis was made using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). No signs of nosemosis were observed in the sampled apiaries, but from 154 samples analyzed via PCR, 96 were infected with N. ceranae. This pathogen was reported in samples from all six regions evaluated, and its occurrence in important apiculture regions of Bahia State is discussed in this study.

Identificação molecular e nível de infecção de Vairimorpha ceranae em Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

“…Embora não existam estudos anteriores sobre a detecção dessas espécies na Região Bacia do Jacuípe, Bahia, estudos demonstram que existe a possibilidade de sobreposição da espécie V. ceranae com V. apis, pois essa espécie está amplamente distribuída no Brasil [27,28]. No estudo conduzido por Lage et al (2022) [29], na Bahia, foi identificado o patógeno V. ceranae, além disso, a pesquisa abordou a avaliação da presença de V. apis, contudo, não houve detecção dessa espécie, o que respalda os achados do nosso estudo atual. Vale destacar que essa ausência de V. apis é relevante para entender a dinâmica dos patógenos em populações de abelhas na região.…”

Effects of Plant-Based Supplement on Oxidative Stress of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) Infected with Nosema ceranae

“…Poor nutrition can impair bees' resistance to other stressors and even increase their mortality [13,14]. Infection with the parasitic microsporidium Nosema ceranae, recently redefined to Vairimorpha [15], is one of the most frequent biotic stressors of honey bees worldwide [16][17][18][19][20], including Serbia [21]. It has been shown that N. ceranae suppresses the honey bee immunity and causes oxidative stress [4,[22][23][24][25], and energetic stress [26,27], and decreases honey bee colony strength [5] and their hygienic behavior [4].…”

Epidemiology of the Microsporidium Nosema ceranae in Four Mediterranean Countries

“…A common feature is that this pathogen is widely distributed regardless of the climatic conditions, ranging from desert climates [28][29][30] to very cold ones [31,32]. In some areas, this microsporidium is present in more than 50% of the colonies sampled [18,[33][34][35][36][37][38][39], whereas in others the prevalence is lower than that percentage [40,41]. However, most studies consist of occasional surveys to determine the prevalence of infected colonies at a specific point in time [18,32,37,38,40,[42][43][44][45][46].…”

“…In some areas, this microsporidium is present in more than 50% of the colonies sampled [18,[33][34][35][36][37][38][39], whereas in others the prevalence is lower than that percentage [40,41]. However, most studies consist of occasional surveys to determine the prevalence of infected colonies at a specific point in time [18,32,37,38,40,[42][43][44][45][46]. Other studies carried out longitudinal surveys to determine the prevalence in selected apiaries and how it fluctuates across the study period.…”