>         AFB is a brood disease. The spores do not germinate until they are
> ingested by larvae. There is variability in the number it takes to kill
> a larva, typically 6 - 200 spores. The spores get into the larva in the
> feed they are given by nurse bees. Oxytet kills the active not the spore
> stage of AFB. Since the active stage is in the larva, the oxytet must
> bee fed to the larva too work. There is no doubt that grease patties
> work very well to make the symptoms of AFB disappear, its been done by
> many. Whether this is a cure or not is debatable.
 
Now I'm really confused. If the antibiotic must be fed to the larva to
work, how come we don't have to provide one dose to each generation? It
would seem that a once-a-year prophylactic treatment would not be enough.
 
Conrad Sigona
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