Deformed wing virus is a recent global epidemic in honeybees driven by
Varroa mites,

L. Wilfert, G. Long, H. C. Leggett, P. Schmid-Hempel, R. Butlin, S. J. M.
Martin, M. Boots.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6273/594

No Pay-wall.

Abstract

Deformed wing virus (DWV) and its vector, the mite Varroa destructor, are a
major threat to the world's honeybees. Although the impact of Varroa on
colony-level DWV epidemiology is evident, we have little understanding of
wider DWV epidemiology and the role that Varroa has played in its global
spread. A phylogeographic analysis shows that DWV is globally distributed in
honeybees, having recently spread from a common source, the European
honeybee Apis mellifera. DWV exhibits epidemic growth and transmission that
is predominantly mediated by European and North American honeybee
populations and driven by trade and movement of honeybee colonies. DWV is
now an important reemerging pathogen of honeybees, which are undergoing a
worldwide manmade epidemic fueled by the direct transmission route that the
Varroa mite provides.

Kind regards,

Ghislain De Roeck,
Belgium.

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