Date: February 4, 2016
Source: University of Exeter
The spread of a disease that is
decimating global bee populations is humanmade, and driven by European honeybee
populations, new research has concluded.
A study led by the University of
Exeter and UC Berkeley and published in the journal Science found
that the European honeybee Apis mellifera is overwhelmingly the
source of cases of the Deformed Wing Virus infecting hives worldwide. The
finding suggests that the pandemic is humanmade rather than naturally
occurring, with human trade and transportation of bees for crop pollination
driving the spread.
Although separately they are not
major threats to bee populations, when the Varroa mite carries the
disease, the combination is deadly, and has wiped out millions of honeybees
over recent decades. Varroa feed on bee larvae while the Deformed
Wing Virus kills off bees, a devastating double blow to colonies. The situation
is adding to fears over the future of global bee populations, with major
implications for biodiversity, agricultural biosecurity, global economies, and human
health.
The study was funded by the
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and supported by a Royal Society
Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship. It involved collaborators from the universities of
Sheffield, Cambridge, Salford and California, as well as ETH Zurich in
Switzerland.
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