>Is AFB prevented?  To me it is just masking the symptoms and it will break
>out again at a later time.  

If you don't have AFB, and you use terramycin, it prevents it. For example,
your hive robs a sick one and brings back spore laden honey. The terramycin
prevents an infection from developing. The spores are eventually eliminated
by house-cleaning. 

>If the oxytet stops the spores from developing, then how did the resistance
>of the vegetative stage occur?  There must have been some oxytet in the
hive for the vegetative stage to become resistant.

TM is used to treat advanced infections. This gives the AFB long-term
exposure to TM and will allow resistant strains to develop. I am not
recommending using TM to treat advanced cases though we know it works on
light infections.

>If AFB is so widespread, how does it survive in colonies to become a source
>of infection for other hives in the area?  

For example, hive dies from foulbrood. Swarm repopulates it, fills it with
honey, gets foulbrood and dies leaving large quantity of AFB honey. Your
hive robs it out, gets foulbrood.

>It has been shown that if you treat with oxytet, you will get residues in
>your honey, not just in the brood nest. 

Perhaps, but I believe these amounts are infinitesimal. Far less that one
would get from, say, chicken. OK, no need to use TM. But if you don't you
will have to destroy what cases of AFB you encounter. Personally, I try to
prevent that.

pb

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