Abstract
Nosemosis is a microsporidian disease causing mortality and weakening of honey bee colonies, especially in the event of co-exposure to other sources of stress. As a result, the disease is regulated in some countries. Reliable and harmonised diagnosis is crucial to ensure the quality of surveillance and research results. For this reason, the first European Interlaboratory Comparison (ILC) was organised in 2017 in order to assess both the methods and the results obtained by National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) in counting Nosema spp. spores by microscopy. Implementing their own routine conditions of analysis, the 23 participants were asked to perform an assay on a panel of ten positive and negative samples of crushed honey bee abdomens. They were asked to report results from a qualitative and quantitative standpoint. The assessment covered specificity, sensitivity, trueness and precision. Quantitative results were analysed in compliance with international standards NF ISO 13528 (2015) and NF ISO 5725-2 (1994). Three results showed a lack of precision and five a lack of trueness. However, overall results indicated a global specificity of 98% and a global sensitivity of 100%, thus demonstrating the advanced performance of the microscopic methods applied to Nosema spores by the NRLs. Therefore, the study concluded that using microscopy to detect and quantify spores of Nosema spp. was reliable and valid.
Highlights
Nosemosis is a global disease of adult honey bees
POS1 and POS2 were prepared using bees naturally infected with N. ceranae from the European Union Reference Laboratory (EURL) sample collection, while POS3 was a suspension of N. ceranae spores, Table 2 Homogeneity of positive samples
Its purpose was to evaluate their level of competence in using microscopy to detect and quantify Nosema spp. spores in crushed honey bee abdomens
Summary
Nosemosis is a global disease of adult honey bees. It is caused by a spore-forming unicellular parasite of the Microsporidia group Nosema. In response to diagnostic and health issues, and to ensure the quality of the analytical results obtained within the European Union (EU), the European Union Reference Laboratory (EURL) for Bee Health, located in the laboratory of the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) in Sophia-Antipolis (France), organised a InterLaboratory Comparison (ILC) using microscopy to detect and count Nosema spp. spores in crushed bee samples. This was the first test of this method organised by the EU. A survey was conducted within the network of EU NRLs in order to collect information on their analytical methods with the perspective of a possible harmonisation
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