American foulbrood (AFB) is a highly infectious, notifiable disease of bee larvae. Predatory bees or contaminated honey can infect the larvae with the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae. The infection usually leads to death.

In cooperation with the Länderinstitut für Bienenkunde we are working on a simple but sensitive test for beekeepers on site. The result of the test provides certainty about whether and in what way a bee colony is infected with the pathogen of American foulbrood.