http://www.juragricole.com/news/categoryfront.php/id/21/Apiculture.html

[Translated by Google and tidied up a bit by me]

Request for Waiver for Fumidil B To save the bee population of the
Jura Region of France. 29 January 2009

Following the deplorable catastrophic loss in the Jura region's hives
coming out of the winter of 2008, Raymond Borneck, president of the
"syndicat apicole" and apiary health defense group of Jura, sent a
letter to the departmental directorate of veterinary services.

Co-signed by Frédéric Pozet, the veterinarian responsible for the
health of livestock, the letter refers to the loss of bees in the
winter 2008 and request an exemption allowing the use of B Fumidil in
the fight against Nosema ceranae.

"It is evident that these losses have many reasons and can not be
attributed to one factor such as the abnormal development of the
ectoparasite Varroa jacobsoni against which we have tried through the
operation of the PSE to get beekeepers to use the most effective
treatments that have a marketing authorization (AMM).

"Furthermore, as president, I visited some thirty beekeepers to see
the appearance of the mortality: hives full of honey and pollen and a
few dead bees in the hive making it difficult to collect sufficient
samples for analysis. This observation is like what our American
colleagues called Colony Collapse Disorder (CDD). The situation is
similar in many countries. As described in the letter, even with the
correct treatment of varroa, losses can be very serious ... "

"On the other hand, in 2007, already, losses ocurred in areas of the
Jura which used little or no pesticides in agriculture which makes
unlikely the involvement of agents such as the famous "Regent" and
"Gaucho."

"We had worked to get the equipment in the Laboratory for PCR
analysis. With this we could confirm in the Jura region, the initial
analysis made by the Spanish laboratory Marchamalo of the presence of
Nosema ceranae of which we now know the incredible pathogenicity to
honeybees.

"Unfortunately, tests are very expensive and without any subsidy we
have been able to achieve too small a number. We were promised free
virus analysis on the same samples from the AFSSA laboratory. But they
came back on this offer.

"We believe that Nosema ceranae is a major pathogen responsible for
the deaths of hives. "

"The only active ingredient effective in the fight against nosema is
the antibiotic Fumidil B based on fumagillin, which is prohibited due
to lack of marketing authorization in the European Union. The EU
allows states to apply for exemption as did Spain and England.

"The absence of a decision by the French government does little to the
analysis, especially as we have used this product on a large scale,
there are over 30 years to fight against Nosema apis, with a total
success. Should we let the bees perish without seeking solutions to
their demise?

-- 
Peter L Borst

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