It is my understanding that DWV has been around for a long time but only became a large issue with the introduction of varroa mites. The question I have is how long does it take once varroa loads are reduced to <1% for the virus to be deemed no longer a threat again?

I am entering the 4th year of OAE treatment. 3rd year on all my colonys, the first year was on only a test group and I did see DWV in untreated colonys then. In that time I have not observed a case of DWV. I do not have the ability to do a more sophisticated assay then visual inspection but as I say I have not seen any symptoms. This spring I have not detected a single mite in eight 300 bee samples. The bees are thriving.

Many beekeepers, me included, have seen the reduction to insignificance of AFB and T-mite. I also have not observed a single case in at least a decade. I know that there are reported localized outbreaks but fortunately not here. 

Has anyone done a viral analysis for DFW in colonies that do not have a detectable level of varroa and possibly a time frame for how long since last infestation? Could we be so fortunate as to see DWV go the way of AFB and T-mite? 

Paul


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