Investigation of the presence and prevalence of acute bee paralysis virus (AAFV) in bee losses observed in honeybee colonies raisted in elazig and surroundings

The Acute Bee Paralysis Virus (ABPV) is a significant virus known to cause severe mortality in honeybee colonies and can lead to the complete collapse of the colony. This study was conducted in Elazığ and surrounding areas to investigate the causes of bee mortality by examining ABPV between March and June 2024. The study involved sampling 280 adult dead bee specimens from 12 colonies, out of a total of 1395 hives. For each colony, 12 dead bee pools were created, and total RNA was extracted from the dead bees in each pool. The presence of ABPV RNA was investigated using RT-PCR. According to the RT-PCR results, ABPV RNA was not detected in any of the 12 honeybee colonies sampled from the districts of Elazığ's Merkez, Ağın, Maden, Keban, and Karakoçan, where adult bee mortality was observed. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the cause of death in the sampled colonies may be attributed to other microbiological or non-microbiological factors. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation of all potential factors causing bee mortality should be considered in future studies. This thesis highlights the importance of conducting a thorough evaluation to determine the exact causes of bee mortality and suggests that beekeepers consider all potential factors in order to develop more effective strategies for bee health management and disease control.