Hey Randy
Thanks for the reference. Key points:

Higher, more prolonged, antibiotic use might have favored the emergence of resistant strains. It is further possible that colonies weakened by other pests and pathogens are acting as larger reservoirs for P. larvae in honey bee populations, again increasing the probability that resistant strains will evolve and persist.

Alternatively, tetracycline resistance might be epigenetic in nature, specifically through the presence of plasmids and mobile genetic entities that produce proteins involved in resistance.

Strict guidelines should be established for the rotation of different antibiotic treatments, to prolong their effectiveness as controls. These methods should be integrated with those controlling other honey bee pests and pathogens to minimize the long-term cost and effort of maintaining healthy, vigorous colonies.

[thinking: when have beekeepers been willing to follow strict guidelines about anything?]

source:
Diverse origins of tetracycline resistance in the honey bee bacterial pathogen Paenibacillus larvae
Jay D. Evans

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