Of course.  TM was  not "discovered" until World War II.  We used to use
Sulfa drugs
prior to TM; but it was the inspection laws that made beekeepers conscious
of AFB
and made start to look for symptoms.  Don't forget that inspectors had the
legal right to burn a colony without even consulting with the owner.  Hence,
a lot of diseased colonies were removed from the scene, so there was less
chance for contamination of healthy colonies by robbing of diseased colonies.

Talk to the inspectors of almost any state today, and they will tell you that
AFB has
been steadily increasing in recent years because beekeepers have "lost sight"
of AFB and place their emphasis on mites.  Further, those states that have
discontinued or
de-emphasized inspection have all seen increased AFB disease.

If I am not mistaken, you are in Washington State.  If so, talk to Jim Bach
and see if he agrees with me.

George Imirie