>
> First I would like to try to correct some misconception
> regarding the AFB bacteria.  Bacteria do not reproduce by
> producing spores.  Bacterial spores are part of the life
> cycle of spore forming bacteria that allow the bacteria to
> survive unfavorable environmental conditions.

Thanks for clearing that up. For some reason I had gotten it into my head
that at the end of the fission process you had a bunch of spores. If I
understand the process correctly a spore is formed when the bacteria covers
itself in a protein coating in order to survive inhospitable conditions.

Some information found on spores:

http://preserve.nal.usda.gov:8300/jag/v8/v8i11/080399/a080399.htm (kind of
old)

http://falcon.cc.ukans.edu/~jbrown/jurassic.html (even has bees)

http://www.sidwell.edu/~bgravitz/bio/bio.html#bac (Antibiotic resistance
experiment, good information)

> As Allen points
> out taking colonies off treatment does not necessary result
> in an outbreak of AFB.

My guess is that long term use of antibiotic should reduce the spore count.
As spores become active the antibiotic present gets them. I guess there is
some density of the bacteria that would need to be present in the gut of a
larvae to kill it before it became an adult. If you stay below that level
you don't start the "kill larvae"/"clean scale from cell"/"reinfect larvae"
cycle with the house bees.

> Allen is right - properly used drug treatment can cure honey
> bee colonies of AFB.  Proper treatment is the key and culling
> of any visibly diseased combs.

Cure? Control? I guess what matters is the outfit can continue to operate
and make its owner some money. Provided of course that no greater damage is
being done. There is some concern about long term, low level exposure to
antibiotics but the third link I posted above shows that we do not as yet
have all of the answers.