AFB Case Study – AFB alert
2025-12-12
We were expecting the alert here at the lab. The beekeeper had just left after he had brought his hives to us for swabbing on their way to be destroyed. The first two cases of urban AFB in Tairawhiti in a few years (one a rob-out) meant concern for nearby hives.
And specifically . . our’s. The two closest known hives to the find were our’s, one was 600 metres away (at the lab) and the other was less than 500 metres away in a home garden (a different direction from the infected cases).
A chance for a small study and a timely use of the Foster Method as honey boxes were already on and the second box about to go on. We swabbed hives around the urban cases – our hives (2) as well as other urban hives we knew about – one just over 600 metres away and another one 900 metres away. All the hives went into a single composite test
Nothing.
All hives tested clear. Two weeks later we repeated the testing round and again all was clear. And then one urban beekeeper in the testing heard of an unregistered hive – straight over the road from the two cases. Surely this was the source . . . ?
Nope. It was clear as well.
The hives were tested again (except for the unregistered one) after the honey visual inspection and again in autumn. None of these hives developed clinical AFB and none of the hives showed elevated spores.
What did we learn?
- The 2 km text/email alert from NZBB is not a death sentence for a neighbouring hive.
- Register your hives – the unregistered beekeeper was upset to learn AFB was in the area but he didn’t know. A good chance to educate.
- When the honey boxes are on and the alerts come out, the Foster Method entrance swabs really come into their own.
- Does the increase foral sources in urban areas mean that AFB (and other pathogens) spread differently in town vs commercial apiaries where there may be increased competition for food ? A research project for another lab . . .
