Epizootic monitoring of contagious diseases of bees in Rivne region for the period of 2018–2022

The important role of honey bees has been known for a long time, as the successful work of Apis mellifera helps to maintain natural biogeocenoses and provides humanity with food and medicinal production. The massive loss of honeybee colonies in the southern and eastern border regions of Ukraine is putting a strain on beekeeping production in the north-western regions of Ukraine. To intensify apiaries, there is a need for systematic and regular monitoring research. Epizootic monitoring provides data on the health of honey bees in a specific geographical region that can be scientifically substantiated. To analyse the epizootic situation with contagious bee diseases in the Rivne region in 2017–2022, we used official data from the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection in the Rivne region. In addition to epizootic monitoring, the aim of our study was to identify the most common bee diseases in this region. The analysis of the results shows that diagnostic tests for varroosis and nosema, acarapidosis, American and European foulbroods, and amoebiasis are planned and carried out systematically. From 2017 to 2021, the number of diagnostic tests for bacterial diseases of bees was increased. At the same time, in 2022, the activity of such research decreased by 6.4% in comparison to 2021. A different pattern was registered for parasitic diseases of bees. For example, there was an increase in the number of such studies from 2019 (1678 studies) to 2022 (3184 studies). It was found that the Rivne region has been safe from American and European foulbroods, acarapidosis, braulosis and amoebiasis for the last 6 years. Varoosis and nosema are registered annually in 2017–2022, with the infection rate for these diseases set at 11.06 % (2020) – 14.82 % (2022), respectively. This data is likely to indicate a change in the economic situation of beekeepers, which makes it impossible to prevent hives from being treated for certain diseases in a timely manner. Thus, the analysis of laboratory tests for contagious diseases of bees helps to detail the epizootic state of a particular region, which allows to determine the direction for veterinary and sanitary measures for a specific apiary.