Epizootic situation with contagious diseases of bees in the North-West regions of Ukraine

Abstract

The beekeeping industry provides not only honey but also other medicinal products for the human race. The health of bee colonies is supported by data on the prevalence of contagious bee diseases - monitoring investigations. At present, the system for providing such surveys is imperfect. There is a need not only to analyze diseases proposed by regional laboratories but also to diagnose other common diseases. To characterize the epizootic situation of contagious diseases of bees, we systematized and analyzed official data from the Departments of the State Consumer Service of Zhytomyr, Rivne, and Volyn regions. The article presents the data of the analysis of bee diseases investigated by regional laboratories in these regions. This study's materials were reports from regional laboratories of the State Consumer Service of Zhytomyr, Rivne, and Volyn regions. The data were statistically processed, and the results were analyzed by comparing the epizootic process development indicators. The data results indicate the prevalence of varroaatosis and nosema annually in all regions studied. In the Volyn region, there is a trend toward decreasing diagnostic tests for bee diseases compared to 2019. An annual increase in diagnostic tests has been registered in the Zhytomyr and Rivne regions of Ukraine. Occasionally, regional laboratories sometimes conduct unscheduled tests for other bacterial and viral diseases of bees. Based on planned surveys alone, it is difficult to describe the prevalence of infectious diseases in these insects. Therefore, early detection of the source of the infectious agent is advisable to ensure the well-being of bee farms. Thus a monitoring system for bee diseases of viral and bacterial origin would be promising, with the primary objective of obtaining organic bee products. Such approaches would provide a more precise and more realistic picture of the epizootic state of each region.