Prevalence of three honey bee viruses in Turkey

Abstract

In this study, 10 worker bees from each of 28 different apiaries were collected (a total of 280 honey bees) from 6 provinces of the Black Sea region in Turkey. These samples were tested by Reverse-Transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR), for three honey bee viruses: acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV), chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) and black queen cell virus (BQCV). In addition, the samples were microscopically examined for Varroa destructor. In conclusion, CBPV, BQCV and Varroa destructor were identified in 25%, 21.42% and 53.57% of the bees respectively, but ABPV could not be detected in apiaries. This is the first report of CBPV, BQCV in Turkey.