American foulbrood diagnostic kit

01 · HOW IT WORKS

A test strip, like a pregnancy test

The kit works on the same principle: a strip carrying antibodies that recognise the antigen of Paenibacillus larvae, the pathogen behind American foulbrood. The sample is prepared with the extraction buffer and the strip shows the result in minutes.

It is validated by the National Bee Unit at FERA (York) and by other international institutes.

02 · ON WHAT SAMPLE

A larva with symptoms, whole if possible

The result is only as good as the sample. A whole infected larva is recommended; partial samples work, but the whole larva gives the most reliable reading.

Hence its limit: it is a tool to confirm a suspicion where the brood looks abnormal, not a screen to run across healthy, symptom-free colonies.

03 · IF IT COMES OUT POSITIVE

The first move is not to treat, it is to report

American foulbrood is a notifiable disease. Faced with a positive, what follows is to report it to the official veterinary service and follow their instructions, which decide what happens to the colony and the equipment.

This kit guides you in the field; it does not replace the official laboratory diagnosis. In the meantime, the sensible thing is not to move equipment or frames between hives: it is the quickest way to spread spores across the whole apiary.

04 · WHAT IS IN IT

The material for one determination

It includes pipette, lid, spatula, extraction buffer and homogenising ball bearings — the material for one determination. To sample several hives, count one kit per test.

Store it like any reagent: in its packaging, at a steady temperature and with an eye on the expiry date, which in a field test matters as much as the procedure.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

A field test, within its animal-health framework: