Diagnosis and control of American foulbrood disease of honey bees in the Netherlands

American foulbrood disease (AFB), caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae, is a disease of the European honey bee (Apis mellifera) and other honey bee species (Apis sp.). It is distributed world wide. Spores of the bacterium can infest larvae of the bees, ultimately leading to the death of the larva or pupa. Although often spores are present in bee colonies, it only sporadically leads to serious disease symptoms, and to the death of the colony. In most countries the disease is under an obligation of notification, and control is often carried out by the government. Until 2005 this was also the situation in the Netherlands, where the disease was controlled using a ‘stamping out’ procedure. However, since the fall of 2005 the beekeepers are responsible for the control of AFB. Therefore PPO Bee Unit together with the Dutch beekeepers organizations has developed material for disease recognition, made a script for AFB control and organized training meetings for bee health officers. In the new control script the strict ‘stamping out’ approach (destroying the whole apiary) has been abandoned. Now only the visibly diseased colonies will be eliminated, the other colonies of the apiary will be cleaned and restarted on foundation comb (limited stamping out).