At 16:54 14/09/2002 -0400, you wrote:

>In a message dated 14/09/02 05:03:32 GMT Daylight Time, Mike Rowbottom writes:
>
><< The data from the Bee Disease Insurance Co show that there has been a
>  progressive increase in the number of EFB claims per insured colony in the
>  UK over recent years.   >>
>
>Mike, do you happen to know whether there is any correlation between the
>increase in recent years with the antibiotic treatment policy of recent years?
>
>Chris


The data came from the claims records published by Bee Disease
Insurance.  My calculated results are:

Year    Claims for EFB per insured colony
1994  0.0020
19950.0016
19960.0025
19970.0027
19980.0038
19990.0034
20000.0048

I have the results for 2001 but Foot and Mouth disease in England disrupted
brood inspections so much they are probably not meaningful as a comparison.

The rise predates the new treatment, which I believe was only fully
implemented from 2002 onwards.

For comparison, the AFB claim rate per insured colony averaged 0.0006
(range 0.0002 to 0.001) over the same time period, with no apparent trend
upwards.  The AFB rate is approximately an order of magnitude lower than
that for EFB.

Some care is needed with these numbers as other factors may be at
present.  The number of colonies insured fell by 46% over the time period
and this is almost the same as the number of beekeepers insuring.  It is
possible that the remaining beekeepers may be the more dedicated ones and
perhaps more likely to be vigilant in looking for abnormal brood?

Regards


Mike Rowbottom

Harrogate
North Yorkshire
UK




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