How can we protect honey bee health if we don’t yet have the data to guide decisions?
The APIMONDIA Working Group on Good Veterinary Practice in Apiculture (AWG-GVPA) has published Policy Brief #6: Research Gaps in Veterinary Medicine — Mapping Areas That Need More Data. It identifies the most critical knowledge gaps holding back evidence-based apiculture and calls for coordinated international action to address them.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Veterinary decision-making in apiculture is too often based on incomplete, fragmented, or region-specific evidence. Multiple interacting stressors continue to drive colony losses, but the relative contribution of pathogens, parasites, environmental factors, and management practices is still not sufficiently understood across regions. Without better data, prevention falls short, treatment decisions are compromised, and policy development stalls.
THE KEY GAPS
The brief maps six priority areas where evidence is urgently needed:
1/ Disease Surveillance: Fragmented and incomplete epidemiological data across countries and regions.
2/ Diagnostics: No standardised thresholds for clinical and subclinical infections and infestations.
3/ Treatment Efficacy & Safety: Limited field evidence on the efficacy, safety, residue dynamics, and resistance risks of veterinary medicinal products for bees.
4/ Colony Management: Insufficient evidence on how nutrition, hive conditions, and management practices affect colony health outcomes.
5/ Digital Veterinary Tools: IoT-based hive monitoring, microbiome approaches, and novel therapeutics lack the standardised, open-access field data.
6/ Data Sharing: Restricted access to data and weak coordination among key stakeholders.
THE EXPECTED IMPACT
Addressing these gaps will improve disease prevention, diagnostics, and treatment decisions across the sector. It will strengthen the recognition of apiculture within veterinary medicine and One Health frameworks, support better governance and evidence-based regulation. Therefore, these efforts can ultimately contribute to healthier bee populations, more resilient pollination services, and greater consumer confidence in hive products.
As the brief puts it simply: Better data. Stronger policies. Healthier bees. Safer communities.
Leia o Resumo da Política completo aqui.
