This is from Beeinformed  (West Australia) April 2009 (which also contains
an article about Peter Detcheon).
I searched the Archives, but didn't find any reference.
Does anyone have more info on "Empty Nest Disease" in China?
Randy Oliver

China  is  experiencing  two  new  bee
diseases, ‘Empty Nest Disease’ discovered
and  named  in  2006  by  Chen Yuan  and
‘Crawling Bee’ discovered in 2003.
Colonies  all  over  the  country  have  been
decimated.
‘Empty Bee’ disease can reduce a strong
swarm  of  Italian  honeybees  into  a  few
worker  bees  and  a  queen within  two  to
three weeks.
Researcher  Chen  Yuan  found  bees  of
all  ages  crawling  on  the  ground  outside
their hives  in October 2006.   Some were
normally developed and some had curved
wings.  In some hives, he found the queen
and dozens of bees crawling helplessly on
small blocks of comb with pupae.
The cause of the disease is thought to be
fungal and is treatable with Ketoconazole,
a broad spectrum fungicide.
In  2003,  China  experienced  a  collapse
in  the  number  of  bee  colonies  due  to
‘Crawling  Bee  Disease’  and  this  has
worsened every year.
Chen  Yuan,  A  New  Disaster  to  Bee  –
Empty  Nest  Disease,  Yiwu  Apiculture
Assoc. Zhejiang , China.
‘Empty Nest Disease’ and ‘Crawling Bee Disease’
in China

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