Fuente: PubMed "apiculture" PeerJ. 2026 Jun 3;14:e21338. doi: 10.7717/peerj.21338. eCollection 2026.ABSTRACTBeekeepers engaging in highbush blueberry pollination in Canada and the U.S. have raised concerns over poor colony health outcomes presenting as European foulbrood disease (EFB), which highlights a need for improved management strategies supporting colony health during and after pollination. We assessed over 200 colonies belonging to five beekeepers before, at the end, and three weeks following the end of the blueberry pollination period. Half of the colonies at each site were provided with MegaBee pollen supplement and scored for EFB prevalence and severity to test the hypothesis that protein patty supplementation could prevent or mitigate disease development. Before pollination, EFB prevalence was overall low for each beekeeper, with 0-17% of colonies displaying symptoms. In contrast, EFB prevalence was higher post-pollination, ranging from 12-57% symptomatic colonies, though temporal changes were not statistically significant for every beekeeper. Field disease assessments were corroborated with droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) analyses of M. plutonius, the causative agent of EFB, in adult bees, where disease category (symptomatic versus asymptomatic) was significantly, positively linked to both M. plutonius presence and intensity. Protein patty supplementation did not significantly affect EFB prevalence or severity. This data shows that EFB prevalence can increase after blueberry pollination, but not consistently, and that the MegaBee protein supplementation does not appear to be an effective intervention. Other disease mitigation strategies should be pursued, as well as investigation into additional factors leading to EFB occurrence.PMID:42254666 | PMC:PMC13242188 | DOI:10.7717/peerj.21338