Cure for Honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder?

by mgmirkin | April 14, 2009 at 12:38 pm

823 views | 109 Recommendations | 15 comments

It seems that the culprit may have been a specific pathogen: Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia). Researchers in Spain apparently identified the pathogen in professional apiaries and treated it with antibiotics in affected colonies, showing a complete rebound after successful treatment.

In a study published in the new journal from the Society for Applied Microbiology: Environmental Microbiology Reports, scientists from Spain analysed two apiaries and found evidence of honey bee colony depopulation syndrome (also known as colony collapse disorder in the USA). They found no evidence of any other cause of the disease (such as the Varroa destructor, IAPV or pesticides), other than infection with Nosema ceranae. The researchers then treated the infected surviving under-populated colonies with the antibiotic drug, flumagillin and demonstrated complete recovery of all infected colonies.

Is this the final solution for eradicating CCD and restoring bee colonies to their previously healthy states? Or is this treatment merely a single symptom obscuring an underlying undiagnosed problem? Hopefully this research and treatment stands up when applied to other instances of CCD from other regions.

UPDATE (4-15-09): A paper on the subject of Nosema ceranae infection in honeybees, and how it can lead to CCD, can be found here (Mariano Higes, et al). Apparently Nosema ceranae has been identified in French and other European honey bee hives, as well as in Costa Rican killer bee colonies. It may be that Nosema ceranae hitches a ride into the bee colonies on foraged pollen. Also, it seems that Nosema ceranae was first described as an infectious agent at least as far back as 1995 by visiting a researcher studying bees in China. But little more was reported on the subject or much further inquiry made.

In 1995, Professor Ingemar Fries of the Swedish Agricultural University, Uppsala and an expert on Nosema in bees, visited China where he described a new microsporidium, Nosema ceranae, in indigenous honey bees Apis cerana (Fries et al. 1996). The differences between the two microsporidia, Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae, lie in their ultrastructure and genetics (see Fries et al 2006). Though Professor Fries subsequently demonstrated in experiments that Nosema ceranae is infective for the western honey bee, little more was made of the observations until the spring of 2005, when I was contacted by Dr Dinh Quyet Tam of the Bee Research and Development Centre (BRDC) in Hanoi, Vietnam, whose honey bees (Apis cerana and Apis mellifera) were suffering from Nosema disease. Julia Klee and Andrea Besana, working with me at Queen’s University, Belfast, then developed a rapid and accurate molecular genetic detection system to differentiate Nosema apis from Nosema ceranae and found the Vietnamese honey bees to be infected exclusively with Nosema ceranae. In summer 2005, a group of Taiwanese researchers also found Nosema ceranae in Taiwanese Apis mellifera (Huang et al. 2006). It might have been anticipated that the western honey bee would acquire Nosema ceranae if kept in Asia, where Apis cerana and its parasite Nosema ceranae are endemic.

A group of bee pathologists in Spain, led by Dr Mariano Higes, subsequently discovered Nosema ceranae to be widespread in Spanish honey bees Apis mellifera, as of 2005 (Higes et al. 2006), indicating that the parasite had moved out of Asia. Dr Higes’ group have subsequently reported the disease in France, Germany and Switzerland (2nd EurBee Conference, Prague, September 2006). More worryingly still has been the massive colony losses in Spain over the winter of 2005-2006, some of which have been linked to Nosema disease.

See earlier stories:
Colony Collapse Disorder Mystery Solved?
Organic Beehives Immune to CCD?
Bee Disappearance (CCD) and Cell Phones? Scientists Believe a Link Exists

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Tomitheos

at 13:03 on April 14th, 2009

thanks for this post Michael, at least the phasing-out use of antibiotics on humans can still serve a purpose for the bee colonies

Amy Judd

at 13:40 on April 14th, 2009

I hope this is the solution - honey bee colonies are really important and work hard to sustain our planet.

Jarrett Martineau

at 15:00 on April 14th, 2009

Great post. Thanks for this.

Paschen

at 15:32 on April 14th, 2009

It is worth a trial for certain, however we should not call it a victory since we know what happens with antibiotics over time the bugs become resistant.

mgmirkin

at 16:12 on April 14th, 2009

True, true... One hopes the through as thorough and eradication as possible hopefully the infection doesn't come back. Or, if so, comes from the original unadulterated source that's still not resistant... But, over time resistant strains may become a problem. Either requiring different antibiotic or some other solution.

As others have said, it would be nice to know where the infection(s) have been coming from to begin with.

Regards,
~Michael

sara star

at 16:32 on April 14th, 2009

Some honeys have healing properties.

Barbara McPherson

at 17:14 on April 14th, 2009

Good news. Hopefully it will be one of the answers.

Roy C

at 17:53 on April 14th, 2009

I had heard about this, and now it has been confirmed. Good news. Really good news.

mgmirkin

at 18:20 on April 14th, 2009

Well, previously I'd heard about mites. And then about possibly some other pathogen. Or RF interference from cellphone (unlikely, as they've been around for a while now). Or some kind of pesticide issue (be it a particular type banned in Europe mostly, or from GM crops), possibly one that reduces bees' resistance to diseases, etc.

We'll see if the efficacy holds up across regions and various collapsed hives...

Regards,
~Michael

Maireid Sullivan

at 23:22 on April 14th, 2009

Thank you very much for this very encouraging update on such a serious mystery, Michael!

mgmirkin

at 17:50 on April 15th, 2009

Ran across some more articles after a little research on the name of the folks involved in research on the disease vector. So I've added a pretty substantial update (plenty of references anyway).

Regards,
~Michael Gmirkin

Smile

at 18:18 on April 16th, 2009

I'm really tired at the moment so I will not offer critical comment on issue!

But it does bring to mind the Albert Einstein quote:

"If the bees disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."

mgmirkin

at 20:12 on April 16th, 2009

Ohh, I dunno... It might take a bit longer and be more haphazard, but wind-pollination (the old-fashioned way) would probably still account for some crop or otherwise pollination. Lord knows I came out of work today and saw my windshield was coated in a fine film of the stuff... So, apparently there's plenty in the air getting tossed about! ;o]

Not to say that bees aren't more efficient at it, mind you. ;o]

Regards,
~Michael Gmirkin

Susan A (not verified)

at 13:32 on May 16th, 2009

Thank you for sharing the news story on the colony collapse disorder. First time I've heard of what might really be causing it and that there's a cure. Woohoo! That's the "bees knees"!

mgmirkin

at 13:38 on May 16th, 2009

HOPEFULLY, it's the correct answers and can lead to an eradication of the disease. Unless / until any antibiotics used lead to resistant strains. Perhaps more research into where the disease is coming from to begin with would behoove researchers. IE, where is the reservoir of this disease?