I thought that I would take a few moments to write about the practice of feeding bees antibiotics to prevent the outbreak of bacterial brood disease. Not too long ago it was considered standard practice to treat hives with routine applications of antibiotics just in case there might be Foul Brood out there that could destroy the peace and harmony of a well managed hive. While this practice was considered standard it was not logical. It would be the same as everyone taking antibiotics in case there was an outbreak of anthrax.
What has happened over the years is that AFB has become accustomed to low levels of antibiotics present in the hive all the time. Given enough timeAFB becomes resistant to the drug and there is no effective treatment to the disease.
This is only half of the story when it comes to AFB. The other half of the story is that the bacteria that forms AFB has a life cycle that part of the existence of the bacteria is in the spore stage. While the bacteria is in the spore stage it is not affected by antibiotics at all because the bacterium is not doing anything. It is just waiting for conditions to be right, waiting, waiting, waiting. In the meantime, whatever low level of resistant bacteria that are active are being spread around the apiary. How does this happen? Each time a hive is taken apart there is the chance that the components of the hive end up in another hive. My frames travel throughout my operation as individual frames are extracted, mixed with others and replaced or as whole supers are moved into and out of storage.
The problem becomes significant in one of two ways. First is that the bacterium becomes accustomed to and learns to ignore the antibiotics. Often there is a false sense of security when antibiotics are applied and careful checks of the brood nest are skipped. By the time the disease is noticed it may be widespread and difficult to contain. The second common way that problems arise is that medications may be halted and the spores are now able to reproduce easily.
As mentioned in the previous article the cure for AFB is fire. Beekeepers should be suspicious of brood problems in the hive whenever the bees are not performing as well as the beekeeper would like. Regular hive checks should be part of every beekeepers standard routine and at least one thorough hive check for disease each year prior to harvest can keep from spreading the problems around. If you don't look you will never see...