Presumably new viral infection caused mass death of bees in Bashkortostan

UFA, 11 April 2017. /Bashinform News Agency, Galina Bakhshieva/. In Bashkortostan there is a mass death of bees, said the vice-president of the Republican Association of Producers and Processors of Beekeeping Products Sergey Mulyukov.

"Information is available from 26 districts - 160 beekeepers. The death of bees is 80-90 percent. The similar situation is observed in Altai, in Orenburg, Samara regions and Adygea," he stated on Facebook.

The cause of mass death of bees allegedly was a viral infection of unknown etiology.

"Now we are preparing for the sampling of dead bees for shipment to the laboratories of Tomsk, Moscow, as well as Germany and France," he told RBC-Ufa. “We studied the experience of the Stavropol Territory - the same situation was three years ago there. They passed the bees for examination to European laboratories and identified the causative agents of the infection. The treatment was conducted with European drugs. And they were able to cure everything. Perhaps we should go this way."

According to Sergey Mulyukov, the bees’ population will recover in one season. In his opinion, veterinary research, study of diseases and pathogens, development of preparations, new equipment, technologies for maintenance, care, and receipt of the product are needed.