The honeybee (
Apis mellifera L.) is an important
pollinator worldwide. Beekeepers have experienced an
increasing loss of colonies in recent years and pathologies
including viruses and intestinal parasites such as
Nosema ceranae
are among those held responsible for this decline.
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence
and distribution, using the real time PCR method, of six
honeybee viruses including
Deformed Wing Virus (DWV),
Black Queen Cell Virus (BQCV),
Sacbrood Virus (SBV),
Acute Bee Paralysis Virus (ABPV),
Chronic Bee Paralysis
Virus (CBPV) and
Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV)
in addition to three intestinal parasites,
N. ceranae,
N. apis
and
Lotmaria passim in Chilean beehives distributed
between the Metropolitan Region and La Araucanía
Region. Among the viruses, BQCV was the most prevalent
in the analyzed hives, ranging from 72% to 100%,
N.
ceranae was detected between 19% to 53% and
L. passim
showed infections ranging from 45% to 73%. Similarly,
BQCV (96%) and
N. ceranae (42%) were more prevalent
in spring-summer whilst DWV (37%) and
L. passim
(68%) were more frequents in autumn-winter seasons.
Furthermore, mixed infections were also detected, wherein
viruses were found along with
L. passim or viruses with
N. ceranae and
L. passim, which proved to be the most
prevalent. Of the 467 hives analyzed, 97.2% were infected
with one or more of the studied pathogens, indicating that
they are widely spread in Chile.
