Therefore, we sat down and thought about some things that could be done to help minimize the problem:

In a lab with the right equipment, the test we developed can produce results quickly in cases of emergency (within four hours). Another advantage of our testing methods is that it could be completely automated so that the processing and evaluation of many samples is possible within a short time.

So that the samples arrive safe and sound to the lab, the following should be at the beekeeper’s disposal:

A bee hotline reached be phone or email

Delivery of a sterile sample test tube with a bar code by mail

Put at least 20 bees into the test tube

Send it to the lab

The sample will be tested for IAPV and maybe other viruses

The next day, the test results can be viewed online by entering the code

The bees do not necessarily have to be frozen because we experimented with bees that had been dead for several months and we were still able to find viruses (APV, DWV). The viruses RNA lasts a certain time without being conserved, as long as the bees are not tampered with. Still, the fresher the samples, the more reliable the test will be.

In any case, an Austria-wide monitoring test should be implemented. That means that all diseased hives would be tested for IAPV.

If the virus is found, certain measures must be taken to prevent it from spreading. If a hive were to be affected, one could go forward in the right direction with our test. Neighboring hives should also be checked and tested.

This would lead to hives being destroyed only if they were actually contaminated. Without available testing, entire bee populations in an essentially large area would have to be killed in cases of disease.

It is interesting for the beekeeper to see what an influence proper care, hive hygiene, the avoidance of stress, and regular varroa treatments and the like have.

Most of the bees in our samples with varroa were infected with APV. It seems that the bees can live with it as long as their immune systems do not suffer from any other stresses and strains. It is possible that this immunity could also be true for the closely related IAPV.

Further research should examine the connection between IAPV and varroa and whether or not the mites pass the virus on.

The cause of APV has already been proven. For IAPV, no research has been done in this area.

In Israel, there are already bees that are resistant to IAPV. An effective preventative measure would be to bring some of these resistant bees to Austria and breed them, for example, importing queen bees. With our test, it could be proven whether or not the bees were already infected.

In order to carry out these measures effectively, beekeepers should be made aware of viral bee infections.

We have already been invited to beekeeping clubs to present our results and to discuss ways we can continue to fight the problem.

In order to reach a larger audience, newspaper articles and television appearances are already planned.