Evaluation of the first report of (Nosema ceranae) disease on honey bees in Iraq
Afrah sabah Abd Al-Hameed and Hayder Abd Al-Abbas Hadi*
Honeybee department, Plant protection directorate, Ministry of Agriculture, Iraq.
Abstract
This study was conducted to investigate the presence of Nosema ceranae disease on honeybees (Apis mellifera) in Iraq. The
study was carried out in AL-rashidia beekeeping station in the northern of Baghdad.
350 samples of honey bees were collected from five Provinces of Iraq (Baghdad, Diala, Alnajaf, Karbala and Babil). The
results showed depending on the characteristics of the pathogen that the disease found in three Provinces (Baghdad, Diala
and Babil) with incidence ranged between (50-100)%. Genetic marker for the pathogen, simple sequence repeat (SSR) was
used to differentiate between Nosema ceranae and Nosema apis. primer pair product a band with (218bp).
Key words: Nosema ceranae, honey bees, Nosema apis.
