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Biganski S, Lester T, Obshta O, Jose MS, Thebeau JM, Masood F, Silva MCB, Camilli MP, Raza MF, Zabrodski MW, Kozii I, Koziy R, Moshynskyy I, Simko E, Wood SC. Comparison of individual and pooled sampling methods for estimation of Vairimorpha ( Nosema) spp. levels in experimentally infected honey bee colonies. J Vet Diagn Invest 2023; 35:639-644. [PMID: 37638692 PMCID: PMC10621544 DOI: 10.1177/10406387231194620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The microsporidian pathogens Vairimorpha apis and V. ceranae are known to cause intestinal infection in honey bees and are associated with decreased colony productivity and colony loss. The widely accepted method for determining Vairimorpha colony infection level for risk assessment and antibiotic treatment is based on spore counts of 60 pooled worker bees using light microscopy. Given that honey bee colonies consist of as many as 1,000 times more individuals, the number of bees collected for Vairimorpha detection may significantly impact the estimated colony infection level, especially in the case of uneven distribution of high- and low-infected individuals within a hive. Hence, we compared the frequency and severity of Vairimorpha infection in individual bees to pooled samples of 60, 120, and 180 bees, as well as compared the Vairimorpha spp. prevalence in pooled samples of 60 and 180 bees. Overall, we did not find significant differences in spore counts in pooled samples containing incremental numbers of bees, although we observed that, in less-infected colonies, a low frequency of highly infected individuals influenced the estimated colony infection level. Moreover, Vairimorpha spp. prevalence did not differ significantly among the pooled bee samples tested. Increasing the number of pooled bees from the recommended 60 bees to 180 bees did not yield a more accurate representation of colony infection level for highly infected colonies, but the clinical importance of a low frequency of highly infected individuals in less-infected colonies needs to be addressed in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Biganski
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Tessa Lester
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Oleksii Obshta
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Midhun S. Jose
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Jenna M. Thebeau
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Fatima Masood
- Veterinary Microbiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Marina C. B. Silva
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Marcelo P. Camilli
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Muhammad F. Raza
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Michael W. Zabrodski
- Western College of Veterinary Medicine, and Prairie Diagnostic Services, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Ivanna Kozii
- Western College of Veterinary Medicine, and Prairie Diagnostic Services, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Roman Koziy
- Western College of Veterinary Medicine, and Prairie Diagnostic Services, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Igor Moshynskyy
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Elemir Simko
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Sarah C. Wood
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
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