Building composite indices in the age of big data - Application to honey bee exposure to infectious and parasitic agents.

Pollinator insects play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity and agricultural production worldwide. Yet they are subject to various infectious and parasitic agents (IPAs). To better assess their exposure to IPAs, discriminative and quantitative molecular methods have been developed. These tools produce large datasets that need to be summarised so as to be interpreted. In this paper, we described the calculation of three types of composite indices (numerical, ordinal, nominal) to characterize the honey bee exposure to IPAs in 128 European sites. Our summarizing methods are based on component-based factorial analyses. The indices summarised the dataset of eight IPAs quantified at two sampling times, into synthetic values providing different yet complementary information. Because our dataset included two sampling times, we used Multiple Factor Analysis (MFA) to synthetize the information. More precisely, the numerical and ordinal indices were generated from the first component of MFA, whereas the nominal index used the first main components of MFA combined with a clustering analysis (Hierarchical Clustering on components). The numerical index was easy to calculate and to be used in further statistical analyses. However, it contained only about 20% of the original information. Containing the same amount of original information, the ordinal index was much easier to interpret. These two indices summarised information in a unidimensional manner. Instead, the nominal index summarised information in a multidimensional manner, which retained much more information (94%). In the practical example, the three indices showed an antagonistic relationship between N. ceranae and DWV-B. These indices represented a toolbox where scientists could pick one composite index according to the aim pursued. Indices could be used in further statistical analyses but could also be used by policy makers and public instances to characterize a given sanitary situation at a site level for instance.

Could Vespa velutina nigrithorax be included in the World Organisation for Animal Health list of diseases, infections and infestations?

Vespa velutina nigrithorax is an invasive alien organism that has raised concerns in all beekeeping communities of invaded countries including the Republic of Korea, European countries and Japan. Known also as the yellow-legged hornet (or the 'Asian hornet'), it is native to northern India, eastern Nepal, Bhutan and the People's Republic of China. Given its climatic and biological characteristics and the effects of climate change, some coastal areas of North America, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand are also susceptible to invasion. Vespa velutina nigrithorax notably affects managed honey-bee colonies by predation on foragers and causing a reduction in the collection of food resources. Being a generalist predator, the yellow-legged hornet also preys on other managed and wild pollinators, and therefore its impacts are not limited to the beekeeping sector but also represent a biodiversity concern. The purpose of this paper is to provide an assessment of V. v. nigrithorax against the four criteria established in Chapter 1.2. of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Terrestrial Animal Health Code for the inclusion of a disease, infection or infestation in the OIE list. The work was requested by the OIE Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases and presented to this Commission and to the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Commission in September 2017. Owing to the lack of effective measures to prevent its spread, the fact that its legal situation in some countries is under the mandate of environmental authorities rather than Veterinary Services, and because it is not considered a disease or parasite, V. v. nigrithorax is not currently being proposed for inclusion in the OIE list. At the end of the text, the statements from the two commissions are included and discussed.

Vespa velutina nigrithorax est une espèce allochtone envahissante qui inquiète l'ensemble du secteur apicole dans les pays qu'elle a colonisés, dont la République de Corée, les pays européens et le Japon. Désignée communément sous le nom de frelon asiatique ou de frelon à pattes jaunes, V. v. nigrithorax est originaire du Nord de l'Inde, du Népal oriental, du Bhoutan et de la République populaire de Chine. Certaines zones littorales d'Amérique du Nord, d'Argentine, d'Afrique du Sud, d'Australie et de Nouvelle-Zélande sont également susceptibles d'être colonisées compte tenu de leurs caractéristiques climatiques et biologiques et des effets induits par le changement climatique. Vespa velutina nigrithorax affecte surtout les colonies d'abeilles mellifères en s'attaquant aux butineuses ce qui se traduit par une baisse des ressources alimentaires collectées dans les ruches. Étant un prédateur généraliste, cette espèce de frelon s'attaque également à d'autres pollinisateurs d'élevage ou sauvages de sorte que son impact ne se limite pas au secteur apicole mais représente également une menace pour la biodiversité. Dans cet article, les auteurs évaluent V. v. nigrithorax au regard des quatre critères définis dans le chapitre 1.2. du Code sanitaire pour les animaux terrestres de l'Organisation mondiale de la santé animale (OIE) pour qu'une maladie, une infection ou une infestation soit ajoutée à celles listées par l'OIE. Les résultats de cette étude, réalisée à la demande de la Commission scientifique pour les maladies animales de l'OIE, ont été présentés en septembre 2017 à cette commission ainsi qu'à la Commission des normes sanitaires pour les animaux terrestres de l'OIE. L'inclusion de V. v. nigrithorax dans la liste de l'OIE n'est pas proposée actuellement pour trois raisons : 1) l'absence de méthodes efficaces pour prévenir la propagation de cette espèce ; 2) le fait que sa gestion relève dans certains pays de la compétence des autorités chargées de l'environnement et non des Services vétérinaires ; 3) le fait que le frelon asiatique n'est ni un vecteur de maladie ni un parasite. En conclusion de leur article les auteurs citent et commentent les avis rendus par les deux Commissions spécialisées de l'OIE suite à cette étude.

Vespa velutina nigrithorax es un organismo alóctono (exótico) invasor que ha generado preocupación en todas las comunidades apícolas de los países que ha invadido, entre ellos la República de Corea, diferentes países europeos y Japón. Conocido también cómo avispón asiático, es originario del norte de India, el Nepal oriental, Bután y la República Popular de China. Zonas costeras de Norteamérica, Argentina, Sudáfrica, Australia y Nueva Zelanda también corren peligro de ser invadidas debido a sus condiciones climáticas y biológicas y a los efectos del cambio climático. Vespa velutina nigrithorax afecta significativamente a las colonias de manejo apícola, ya que ataca a las pecoreadoras y reduce la capacidad de recolectar recursos alimenticios de la colmena. Además, como depredador generalista que es, el avispón asiático también ataca a otros polinizadores salvajes o manejados por el hombre, por lo que sus impactos no se limitan al sector apícola sino que suponen también un problema de biodiversidad. El objetivo del presente artículo es evaluar en qué medida V. v. nigrithorax cumple los cuatro criterios establecidos en el capítulo 1.2 del Código Sanitario para los Animales Terrestres de la Organización Mundial de Sanidad Animal (OIE) para incluir una enfermedad, infección o infestación en la lista de la OIE. Este trabajo fue realizado a petición de la Comisión Científica para las Enfermedades de los Animales de la OIE y presentado a esta comisión y a la Comisión de Normas Sanitarias para los Animales Terrestres de la OIE en septiembre de 2017. Puesto que no existen medidas eficaces para contener su diseminación, que en algunos países está legalmente bajo competencia de las autoridades ambientales, y no de los Servicios Veterinarios, y que no está considerada ni una enfermedad ni un parásito, actualmente no se recomienda incluir V. v. nigrithorax en la lista de la OIE. Al final del artículo se incluyen y discuten las declaraciones de ambas comisiones.

Recent molecular biology methods for foulbrood and nosemosis diagnosis.

Honey-bee colony losses are an increasing problem in Western countries. There are many different causes, including infections due to various pathogens. Molecular biology techniques have been developed to reliably detect and identify honey-bee pathogens. The most sensitive, specific and reliable is the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) methodology. This review of the literature describes various studies where qPCR was used to detect, identify and quantify four major honey-bee pathogens: the bacteria Paenibacillus larvae and Melissococcus plutonius (the causative agents of American foulbrood and European foulbrood, respectively) and the microsporidia Nosema apis and N. ceranae (the causative agents of nosemosis). The application of qPCR to honey-bee pathogens is very recent, and techniques are expected to improve rapidly, leading to potential new prospects for diagnosis and control. Thus, qPCR techniques could shortly become a powerful tool for investigating pathogenic infections and increasing our understanding of colony losses.

A foreigner in Ireland.

Those beautiful blue eucalyptus leaves in your Valentine's bouquet may be the product of the new cut-foliage industry in County Kerry, Ireland. Initially, commercial plantations were the victims of an insect accidentally imported from Australia, but two years ago a natural enemy was released and has proven to be an effective control agent for the pest.