The responsibilities and tasks of EU reference laboratories in the animal health sector are listed in the Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of 15^th. March 2017. Within the context of its reference activities, and in accordance with the Commission, the EU RL is in charge of:

• Contributing to the improvement and harmonisation of methods of analysis, test or diagnosis to be used by official laboratories in the European Union;
• Providing National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) with details and guidance on the methods of laboratory analysis, testing or diagnosis, including reference methods and providing them with reference materials;
• Coordinating the application of the methods by the NRLs, in particular by organising regular inter-laboratory comparative testing or proficiency tests and by ensuring appropriate follow-up of such comparative testing or proficiency tests;
• Coordinating practical arrangements necessary to apply new methods of laboratory analysis, testing or diagnosis, and informing national reference laboratories of advances in this field;
• Conducting training courses for staff from NRLs, official laboratories or experts from third countries;
• Providing technical and scientific assistance to the NRLs and the European Commission;
• Providing information on relevant national, Union and international research activities to the NRLs;
• Collaborating within the scope of the EU RL mission with laboratories in Third Countries and with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC);
• Assisting actively in the diagnosis of outbreaks in Member States of bee diseases or pests, by carrying out confirmatory diagnosis, characterisation and taxonomic or epizootic studies on pathogen isolates or pest specimens;
• Coordinating or performing tests for the verification of the quality of reagents and lots of reagents used for the diagnosis of bee diseases;
• Cooperating with the Commission to develop methods of analysis, testing or diagnosis of high standards

The Commission Regulation (EU) No 415/2013 of 6^th May 2013 lays down additional responsibilities and tasks for the European Union Reference Laboratory (EU RL) for Bee Health.

Diseases on which the EU RL works are listed in the EU Regulation 2018/1882 and in accordance with the Animal Health Law (EU Regulation 2016/429):

• Infestation with Varroa spp. (Varroosis)
• Infestation with Aethina tumida (Small hive beetle)
• American foulbrood
• Infestation with Tropilaelaps spp.

Reference mandates assigned to Anses

by Per Kryger and MPC

• varrosis in Denmark
• varroa in France

Lien : Document to consult www.anses.fr/fr/content/laboratoire-de-sophia-antipolis

AMERICAN FOULBROOD
AFB is a notifiable disease in the European Union. It is a disease of sealed brood.
Etiological agent
AFB is caused by a spore-forming bacterium, Paenibacillus larvae. It is this ability of the bacillus to spore that makes the disease so resistant to disinfection.
Symptomatic criteria (suspicion):
- “Spotty” brood pattern / mosaic brood / scattered brood
- Ropy larvae (match test, viscosity)
- Specific odor of sick larvae
- Capping with different colour / dark sunken cell cappings/ holes in cappings
- Sticky scales
- Coffee brown colour of the larva

Location

The Sophia Antipolis laboratory is located in the South East of France, near the city of Nice, in the Sophia Antipolis scientific and economic cluster.

The PACA (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur) region is one of the main beekeeping regions of France because of its nectar-producing flora, both cultivated and wild (lavender-lavandin, thyme, rosemary, and heather). It is a honey producing region (high-quality honey which is exported all over Europe), as well as being a wintering region for the coastal colonies, due to the mild weather conditions that allow beekeeping to start very early in the season. Depending on the season, the laboratory is in the vicinity of over 50,000 bee colonies.

Main duties 

The laboratory was founded in 1950. For over 60 years, bee disease has remained an important research subject for the laboratory. Current studies cover the major bee diseases, as well as their aetiology and transmission paths. The laboratory develops diagnostic tools and methods for characterising the main parasites and pests affecting bees, as well as certain pathogens (bacterial, fungal or viral). The laboratory cooperates both nationally and internationally with various research groups and conducts applied research activities in the bee health sector. 

The laboratory holds several mandates:

• French National Reference Laboratory for bee diseases
• OIE reference laboratory for bee diseases
• Associated French National Reference Laboratory for pesticides
• European Union Reference Laboratory for bee health