I finally obtained the REPORT OF THE MEETING OF THE OIE AD HOC GROUP ON DISEASES OF HONEY BEES Paris, 25–27 January 2010 Brief Excerpts: Concerns were raised that the identity and pathology of Thai sacbrood virus, causing distinct clinical signs in Asian honey bee colonies, was poorly understood and called for immediate research. Concerns were also raised that strain variation within the Kashmir virus group could be an issue for bee health and required urgent research. Central and South America Colony collapse disorder (CCD): At the moment, there are no reports of massive colony losses as have been documented during the last few years in Europe and the USA, characterised by rapid losses of adult worker bees. This does not mean that there are no colony losses at all in Latin America. There are many reported cases in relation to specific factors such as Varroa infestations, nutritional problems, toxicological reasons and Nosema infestations. Europe Without any doubt, the Varroa mite represents one of the most important problems for beekeeping in Europe for many years. Often, treatment is applied too late or incorrectly and the resulting bee damaged to the bee colony’s death, mainly in autumn and winter. Today, Nosemosis is the most frequent cause of colony losses in spring. Nosema apis has been nearly completely replaced by Nosema ceranae imported from Asia. Probably the new pathogen can multiply quicker in warmer climate. In some Mediterranean countries, like Spain, the new pathogen has been held responsible for some disastrous losses. In the Central and Northern European countries, however, losses caused by Nosema infestation have not increased. Polynesia Little is known about the pest and disease status of honey bees in Polynesia. However, Varroa destructor has been reported from both Tonga and Hawaii. A new form of Varroa jacobsoni that is pathogenic to Apis mellifera was detected in Papua New Guinea (the eastern region of the island of New Guinea) in 2008 and it now presents a major threat to beekeeping in Oceania (particularly Australia) and globally. The Asian honey bee (Apis cerana), first introduced into New Guinea during the 1970s from Indonesia, has developed into an invasive pest in eastern parts of Micronesia (Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands). *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Access BEE-L directly at: http://community.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-LSOFTDONATIONS.exe?A0=BEE-L