Molecular Identification of Six Honeybee Viruses in Iranian Apiaries

The identification of honeybee viruses is of serious importance, particularly considering the lack of information on the natural incidence of viral infections in honeybee populations worldwide. Moreover, the global spread of Varroa destructor in honeybee colonies has a significant effect on the viral infection. In the present study, 160 samples of adult bee from apparently healthy colonies but with a background of parasitic diseases, tremor, and paralysis, were collected during 2011-2012. The samples belonged to 23 different provinces of Iran. They were sent to Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Karaj, Iran, for further analysis, and examined for the presence of viruses using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay. According to the results, out of 160 samples, 9 (5.8 %), 40 (25.6 %), 12 (7.8 %), 34 (21.8 %), 7 (4.5 %), and 29 (18.5%) cases were positive for acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV), black queen cell virus (BQCV), chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV), deformed wing virus (DWV), Kashmir bee virus (KBV), and sacbrood virus (SBV). The samples collected from 18 provinces (78 %) were positive for at least one virus. Among all samples, 83 (53.2 %) specimens were infected with at least one virus. The highest prevalent virus was BQCV, followed by DWV, SBV, CBPV, ABPV, and KBV, respectively.