Collective approach to fight disease

John Mackay
John Mackay
A molecular biologist is applauding a group of southern apiarists uniting to fight a disease killing bees.

John Mackay, the technical director at testing lab dnature in Gisborne, floated an idea to a group of southern beekeepers searching for a better way to detect the American Foulbrood disease.

The beekeepers launched Project CleanHive about three years ago and it is nearing an end.

The molecular biologist — or "DNA nerd" — said the part John Scandrett, of Invercargill, played uniting a group of southern beekeepers to collaboratively work on industry issues was looked on with "a lot of admiration and some envy" by many.

"He’s done a phenomenal job."

Beekeepers in the North Island were not working as collaboratively, he said.

The southern beekeepers first approached Mr Mackay to ask if he could try to detect the disease in some samples of nurse bees taken from their hives.

Mr Mackay floated the idea of the beekeepers swabbing the entrance of their hives and sending it to his lab to try to detect the disease.

He had been dealing with the DNA technology — quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) — for about 20 years. However, it was the first time the technology had been used to diagnose the disease by swabbing the entrance of hives.

The swab method, known as the Foster Method, was similar to the method used to detect Covid-19.

"It’s like using wastewater to detect a Covid issue in Warkworth — there’s no positive patient but there’s signs of it."

His lab was the only organisation in New Zealand to develop a method to detect Covid, he said.

The Foster Method to detect American Foulbrood was quicker than other methods because the hive did not have to be dismantled to take a swab sample.

"With tools like this, and other tools people are developing, I think we can eradicate it from New Zealand," Mr Mackay said.

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