From: Peter Dillon <pdillon@club-internet.fr>
Date: Sun, 07 Oct 2001 02:23:25 +0100
To: BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: How do you tell diseases apart

Dee and all other members of the group,

E.F.B. topic has been in the background of my thoughts for quite a while.

When I started beekeeping it was one of those dreaded diseases that came up with A.F.B. etc.
Text books show and describe it in varying detail and "accuracy". In the field it again varies from "easy" to detect and identify, through to "looks like but is it!". Hence the point of this mail:

E.F.B. has classic symptoms that have been assigned to a particular bacteria type. But is it clear that so called E.F.B. symptoms are always caused by the same and single infection?

As mentioned, with the increase in worldwide V.j. incidence, many comments have been made suggesting that E.F.B. is often seen in such parasitized hives. These comments linked with the explanation that the E.F.B. rears its ugly head due to the colonies being under stress and, or the V.j. is a vector of infection.

I really am starting to wonder! Is the term E.F.B. being used as a generic term to cover a multitude of different infections/stress induced problems showing similar symptoms?

Hence:
Are the symptoms resulting from Melissococcus pluton infection in bee larvae similar to those due to other infections and problems?

Pesticide manufacturers themselves have claimed in publicity that certain products will induce "disease" like symptoms in targeted organisms.

Comments!

Peter