> I doubt that anyone will find any wax or 
> honey sample of any reasonable size in 
> North America that does not contain at 
> least one spore.

It is common to take samples of statistical significance and find zero
spores using state-of-the-art-techniques.  One finds these "zero spore"
samples when sampling operations with a history of no detectable AFB
outbreaks in recent years.

One need not look any further than Manitoba, Canada for one example of solid
proof:

"Monitoring for American Foulbrood Spores from Honey and Bee Samples in
Canada"
Pernal and Melathopoulos (Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada)
Apiacta 41:2006

"Analysis of honey samples submitted in 2003 (n=461) and 2004 (n=292) shows
that regardless of disease history class, we were able to find some level of
P. l. larvae spores from the majority of samples, with the exception of
beekeeping operations having no history of AFB infections [in recent
years]."

The paper goes on to note the problem with the routine use of antibiotics,
comparing Manitoba with Alberta, where there seems to have been a problem
with prophylactic use:

"From the honey samples in 2003 and 2004, we were successful at performing
resistance tests to tetracycline (Fig. 3) and tylosin where P. l. larvae
could be isolated from individual honey samples. Over all participating
beekeepers in Manitoba, the zone of inhibition to tetracycline was 41.7 ±
0.9 (mean ± SE) mm while to tylosin was 49.2 ± 0.7 mm. These results
contrast with and average inhibition zone of 11.1 ± 4.0 mm from a companion
study of Alberta beekeepers, where resistance to oxytetracycline is now
widespread."

A full-text pdf can be downloaded here:
http://tinyurl.com/k827cpu

So, while I agree that there are only two kinds of beekeepers; I'd say that
they are those who rely on evidence-based approaches, and those who
speculate.


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