Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV)
Krankheiten
Chronic Bee Paralysis is caused by the Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus, CBPV for short, and affects the adult bees of a colony.
Chronic Bee Paralysis is caused by the Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus, CBPV for short, and affects the adult bees of a colony. It is also called contagious hairless black syndrome (Schwarzsucht), because diseased bees lose their hair on the thorax and abdomen and thereby appear black and shiny. Transmission occurs through close body contact between bees as well as orally via contaminated food.
Two forms of the disease can be seen in the colony. In one, the bees tremble, are unable to fly, have a bloated abdomen, and sit in clusters on the landing board or crawl in front of the hive. In the other, the bees are black and hairless, are rejected by the guard bees at the entrance, and gather in front of the hive. Large numbers of dead bees are often found in front of the hive, while the colony itself still has brood and food. After infection, affected bees die within a few days.
The disease often occurs in strong colonies, in early summer, and under conditions that force many bees together in a confined space, for example during prolonged bad weather, in hives that are too small, or during intensive migratory beekeeping. Reliable detection is done by PCR in the laboratory, because the symptoms overlap with poisoning and other causes of crawling bees.
There is no approved medication. In practice, beekeeping measures have proven effective: giving the colony more space and room, ensuring good ventilation, regularly removing dead bees from in front of the entrance, changing location, and above all requeening with a young queen. Studies on the effectiveness of such measures are ongoing at bee institutes, including at the LWG in Veitshöchheim.
Uniting diseased colonies with healthy ones and moving combs between them should be avoided, as both spread the virus further. Clusters of bees in front of the entrance should not simply be left lying, as they represent a source of infection. There is no reporting requirement.