This beehive infestation was first identified in the Western Cape in 2008 and it has now raised its ugly head again.
The extremely rapid spread of the disease makes it almost certain that honey farmers' hives in Knysna and surrounds are already infected, a fact that has caused alarm among local beekeepers. The practice of transporting bees across vast areas for pollination purposes compounds the threat to Garden Route hives. (South Africa had been free of the disease for longer than a century prior to 2008.)
Riaan van Zyl of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries expressed his dire concern that AFB spores can spread at an alarming rate throughout the Southern Cape. He confirmed that the disease has already been found in hives in the Oudtshoorn and Albertinia areas.
Since bees are often transported from those areas to local farms, beekeepers must be forewarned of the possibility that their hives could be infected.
He emphasised that local beekeepers should act now if they want to avoid being caught off guard by a situation out of their control.
Owen Williams of Honeychild (South Africa's first beekeeping conservation enterprise) near Rheenendal warns,
"This disease will wipe out not only your own honeybees but also the entire feral population (breeding stock and genetic pool) which help us to populate our hives and grow our apiaries, unless we know how to identify it early and take drastic action to curtail it."
The concern in the cooperative bee and honey farming industry is huge. "If this bacterium spreads, it can mean the end of bee-farming for about 200 serious honey farmers in the Southern Cape and Garden Route," Williams says.
"As beekeepers and custodians of the unique Cape honeybee we have a duty to protect and look after her, especially if we hope to have honey in the future."
While AFB poses no health risks to humans, it is exceedingly hazardous to bees, wild and farmed, and as a result all plants and crops dependent on bees for pollination.
Young students from Riversdal Agricultural High School learn more about beekeeping at Honeychild.
A beehive that is infested with AFB. Photo: Wikipedia
'We bring you the latest Southern Cape news'
