Molecular study of two bee pathogenic viruses (IAPV, KBV) in Kurdistan province, western Iran

The European honey bee, Apis mellifera L. plays a vital role in the global economy and food supply by assisting in the pollination and by producing honey, beeswax, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, and other hive products. However, honey bees are inevitably subject to infection by a wide variety of pathogens and populations of honey bees have undergone marked declines since the 1940s, threatening global agricultural production. Some of these viruses are important and serious diseases, including the Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV), Acute Bee Paralysis Virus (ABPV), Kashmir Bee Virus (KBV), and deformed wing virus (DWV), which are more prevalent. In this study, we evaluated 50 Iranian honey bee apiaries (during the period 2016-2017) without symptoms of the disease, by employing reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR). Samples were collected from counties of Kurdistan province. Of the 50 apiaries examined, 27(54%) were infected by IAPV and 2 (4%) infected by KBV. Since these viruses are reported for the first time in the province of Kurdistan, it is necessary to take measures to prevent further spread of these viruses.