The Earl of Haddingtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many instances of varroa infestation in apiaries have occurred in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years; what is the most northerly occurrence; what steps they have taken to control the spread of infestation; and what research is currently being undertaken to eradicate the virus and by whom.
35WA
§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Lord Donoughue)The cumulative number of apiaries infested by the mite varroa over the last five years is shown in the table below. The most northerly occurrence to date has been in Golspie, Scotland.
Control measures are based on varroa being a statutorily notifiable disease. Upon first finding evidence of varroa infestation in Devon in 1992 a Statutory Infected Area (SIA) was declared with movements across the boundary being strictly controlled. On the basis of available information on the geographical distribution of the mite, backed by the results of statutory searches, the boundary has subsequently been extended. The SIA now covers the whole of England and Wales and will be extended to cover Dumfries and Galloway. For England and Wales the need for formal search has been removed. In Scotland random spring and autumn searches have been supplemented by movement restriction orders where appropriate and in the case of isolated incidents, eradication by destruction of hives and bees.
The MAFF research programme, utilising existing expertise at IACR Rothamstead and the Central Science Laboratory's National Bee Unit, concentrates on work concerning identification and monitoring methods for the varroa mite and diagnostics and the epidemiology of the associated viral diseases—for example, Slow Paralysis Virus. This work, costing around £215,000 in 1997–98, will lead to improved timing for control measures.
Cumulative incidence of Varroosis in Great Britain 1993–1997 England (number of apiaries Wales (number of apiaries) Scotland (number of apiaries) Total Infested apiaries 1993 904 1 0 905 1994 1,503 12 0 1,515 1995 2,438 65 0 2,503 1996 3,355 119 0 3,474 1997* 3,930 213 12 4,155 Source:
Agriculture Departments.
*to 28 November 1997.