[The] Spanish honeybee industry has been affected
during the last seven years by a progressive
disappearance of bees. Several factors are
likely to be responsible for the observed high
rate of bee mortality including infection by several viruses,
some of which have recently been isolated in
Spain.

Samples from 294 bee colonies located in 14
of the 15 regions in which continental Spain is
administratively divided were collected from 2004
through 2006. Each sample was obtained
from a different beekeeper; some of the samples
were located in the same geographical area, but no
more than one sample from the same bee colony
was analyzed.

At the time of the sample collection,
most (69.38%) of the bee colonies presented a wide
range of clinical signs compatible with infection
by at least one of the viral diseases assessed here.
Recorded clinical signs included bloated abdomens,
disorientation, and weakness, which ultimately led
to the depopulation of the colony.

-- 

Analytical sensitivity and specificity of a RT-PCR for the
diagnosis and characterization of the spatial distribution
of three Apis mellifera viral diseases in Spain

Deborah Kukielka, et al
Apidologie (2008)

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