American Foulbrood Control Products

By American foulbrood (AFB) control products we should understand not a medicine but the tools and methods that help detect the disease early, stop it spreading and eliminate its spores. There is no authorised medicine that cures AFB, antibiotic use in bees is not permitted in Türkiye, and the disease is notifiable. The beekeeper's "control" tools are diagnosis, isolation, reporting, destruction or disinfection according to the official decision, and prevention.

Why is there no "cure" for AFB?

The causative agent of the disease, the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae, forms extremely resistant spores. A single dead larva produces millions of spores; spores can remain viable in comb, wood, honey and tools for decades. Antibiotics suppress the multiplying form of the bacterium but do not kill the spores:

• Symptoms disappear temporarily and the disease is masked; the spores remain in the hive.
• When treatment stops, the disease returns; meanwhile the hidden infection spreads through the area with colonies, combs and honey that are sold.
• Antibiotic residues remain in honey and wax; the honey becomes unsaleable and legal problems arise.

So do not trust products sold as an "AFB cure", "foulbrood powder" or "natural antibiotic". There is no reliable evidence that propolis, essential oils or herbal mixtures eliminate spores; they only delay the recognition of the disease.

How do you recognise AFB? The first tools at the hive

The tools needed for early diagnosis are simple: good light, a clean hive tool, a matchstick or disposable thin stick, disposable gloves and a notebook. Look for the following in the brood area:

• Patchy (spotty) brood; empty or damaged cells among healthy capped cells
• Sunken, darkened, moist or greasy-looking cappings with irregular holes in the middle
• Browned, shapeless, sticky remains inside the cell
• A dark scale stuck fast to the lower cell wall; rarely a pupal tongue reaching up to the roof of the cell

The matchstick test

Open a suspect capping, push a matchstick into the remains and slowly pull it back. If the brown, sticky remains stretch like a thread for 1–3 cm, AFB is strongly suspected. Do not leave the used stick in or around the hive; destroy it by burning.

Rapid field diagnostic kits

In some countries, rapid diagnostic kits are used for AFB and European foulbrood (EFB), in which the suspect larva is crushed in a special liquid and dropped onto a test cassette. They give a result in a few minutes; however, a positive result still requires laboratory confirmation and an official report, and a negative result does not rule out the disease if symptoms persist. These kits are not a treatment; they only speed up decisions.

What should you do step by step when you suspect AFB?

1. Isolate the hive where it stands: No frames, honey, bees, queen or tools from this hive should go to another hive. Do not sell, move or unite the colony.
2. Prevent robbing: Reduce the entrance; do not leave comb, honey or scraps in the open. Robbing of a weakening diseased hive is the fastest way for the disease to reach neighbouring hives.
3. Document it: Photograph the suspect frame; write down the date, hive number and your observations.
4. Report it at once: Notify the official veterinary service / local agriculture authority (the official veterinarian). The sample is taken by the authorities and sent to the official laboratory.
5. Clean tools and clothing: Clean the hive tool and pass it through a flame, throw away disposable gloves, clean the smoker and your clothing. Always leave the suspect hive until last.
6. Check the rest of the apiary and do not take any equipment out of the apiary until an official decision has been made.

Destruction and disinfection: methods applied by official decision

What is to be done with the diseased colony is decided by the official veterinarian. The methods applied in many countries are:

• Destroying and burning the colony: Under official supervision, the bees are killed in the evening when all are in the hive; combs, frames and honey are burnt in a dug pit and the ashes covered with soil. This prevents the honey and remains from reaching other bees.
• Shook swarm (artificial swarm): In mild cases and where the authorities consider it appropriate, the bees are shaken into a clean hive containing only foundation and the old combs are destroyed. This is a measure decided by the official authority.
• Scorching hive bodies: Sound wooden bodies, floors and lids are first scraped and cleaned, then their inner surfaces are scorched with a flame until the wood turns slightly brown. Corners and joints need particular attention.
• Metal and plastic tools: After wax and propolis have been scraped off, they are washed with hot water and detergent; metal tools are passed through a flame. Ask the authorities which method to use on plastic equipment.
• Specialist facility methods: In some countries hive parts are sterilised in a hot paraffin-wax bath or at irradiation facilities; these are not procedures the beekeeper carries out alone.

AFB spores are highly resistant to ordinary disinfectants. Wiping with a household disinfectant or leaving things in the sun is not an adequate safeguard. Never feed honey from a diseased hive to bees; although the honey is not dangerous to human health, it is a heavy source of spores for bees.

Products and equipment for preventing AFB

The real "products" of AFB control are preventive:

• Foundation and regular comb renewal: Renewing some of the combs every year limits the build-up of spores in the hive.
• A hive tool per hive, or one that is cleaned: Working with several hive tools and cleaning them between hives, or keeping the tool in a bucket of cleaning solution, is a good habit.
• Disposable gloves: Gloves used on a suspect hive are thrown away; leather gloves carry spores.
• Entrance reducer: Protects weak colonies from robbing.
• Record system: Recording movements of colonies, frames and queens makes it possible to trace the source of infection.
• Reliable sources: Do not buy colonies, used hives, combs or honey of unknown origin; do not feed bees with honey from elsewhere.

Hygienic behaviour and vaccine research

Hygienic behaviour, in which bees find and remove diseased brood early, is a heritable trait that can be strengthened by breeding and reduces the risk of AFB; but it does not prevent the disease entirely. In some countries a conditional licence has been granted for a vaccine intended to pass immunity to the brood via the queen. This is not a treatment, its effectiveness in the field is still being evaluated, and it does not change the obligation to report. Probiotic or bacteriophage-based approaches are still at the research stage.

Legal status: notifiable

American foulbrood is a notifiable disease in Türkiye and in many other countries. The beekeeper's task is not to treat it but to report suspicions in time and to follow official instructions. Concealing the disease or suppressing it with antibiotics puts all the beekeepers in the area at risk and creates legal liability.