We regret to report that American Foul Brood (AFB) has been found in two hives of bees in two apiaries in St. Asaph belonging to one beekeeper. Both colonies have been destroyed by burning by Seasonal Bee Inspector David Hards.
If you have bees within 10km of St. Asaph, please contact the association secretary on 01492 650851 to arrange an urgent inspection.
AFB is the most virulent of all the bee diseases. North West Wales has a very good record of keeping AFB away, with only a handful of isolated cases in our area in the last 30 years. Other parts of the UK have outbreaks more or less regularly. Moving bees into our clean area is a surefire way to spread AFB.
We encourage all members to register on BeeBase (http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/)
See https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/downloadDocument.cfm?id=7 for info on AFB.