Peter Borst wrote:
> I think it is very unwise to treat active foulbrood. It is better in 
> thelong run to get rid of it. My experience is that the beekeepers 
> that don'thave foulbrood (and there are plenty) are the ones that 
> practice zero tolerance.
> Once you embark on the medication plan, you will always have it. 
I am with Peter. However, in fairness, there are experienced beekeepers 
on this list who successfully  treat AFB without burning and have no 
future incidences. The archives have much on this.

The problem with using antibiotics is mostly with the beekeeper. Those 
beekeepers who used it successfully treated the symptoms and also were 
strongly into a foundation replacement program, so the source of future 
infections was removed. The problem is with those beekeepers who use it 
as a preventative or treat the symptoms and continue its use. They 
create a repository of AFB that will come back or infect other apiaries 
in the area.

The latter has been my observation. A fellow beekeeper used terra to 
keep AFB "under control" He was a pollinator and his partner's bees 
became infected with AFB. Neither burned their equipment and one is now 
out of business and the other finally burned his equipment and is still 
keeping bees. But it took repeated infections to finally make him 
understand that he was on an antibiotic treadmill.

My first bees, which I purchased more than 15 years ago, from a local 
beekeeper, were infected. Burned and have not had a problem since.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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