Hi all !
Hi Conrad !  you wrote ...
 
> As far as a beehive being more sterile than an operating room--
> any beekeeper who has had experience with brood diseases such as
> chalkbrood, foulbrood, nosema, etc will tell you that it just
> ain't so-- the antibiotic properties of propolis, wax and honey
> are what make the place livable at all ;-).
 
You're right : these *few* diseases (and I don't know what is *etc*?)
are resistant to the propolis and bees antibiotics but there are *few*!
We cannot say this for other animals and for the man !
But these diseases are generally the fact of the beekeeper management
or the lack of vitality after some inbred selection (carnica=nosema?).
 
It is amazing to note that 2 of these resistant diseases are excluded
one by the second : it is actually demonstrated that the chalkbrood
disease inhibit the development of the foulbrood : the colonies
sensible to chalkbrood don't get the foulbrood while a punctual
infection.  In Belgium, foulbrood is rare with our european brown bee
: it is sensible to chalkbrood.  The only last few infections to foulbrood
were find to some Buckfast bees : resistant to chalkbrood !
 
 
Cheers.
 
Jean-Marie <[log in to unmask]>