From: RSBrenchley@aol.com
Date: Tue, 1 Jan 2002 14:47:56 EST
To: BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: Brood diseases

Trevor Weatherhead writes:

> Why then did European Foulbrood (EFB) not show up at the same time? I was
> told that AFB and EFB got their continental tags because that is where they
> were first described. I was also told that AFB and EFB became a problem
> after moveable frames became in common usage. It would seem that the USA
> embraced moveable frames much quicker than Europe and also the migratory
> nature had a big bearing on the spread of AFB.

You may well be right regarding the USA, but the picture in the UK isn't
so clear. Manley refers to dealing with AFB at the beginning of the last
century; he doesn't give the year but it appears to have been around 1910. He
tried several treatments which didn't work, including one developed in France
and Germany, so the disease had evidently been around for a long time, and
was well established before moveable frames or foundation were in general use
here and on the continent. No UK source I've come across says anything about
its having become more common in the 20th Century. EFB is a puzzle. It was
localised here until fairly recently, and has since become commoner; it's now
running at about 1000 cases a year. It's very much a disease of southern
England, and it's hard to think of a factor which would be at work there but
not in Wales or Scotland.

Regards,

Robert Brenchley