Don't shoot the messenger just because you don't like the message. That
quote is a paraphrase of comments from Trevor Williams, a world expert in
IIVs. These are a VERY nasty virus.
Look up African Swine Fever. Initially thought to be possibly related to
HIV, it was subsequently classed as a mammalian iridescent virus. Same
type of capsid sphere, even discolored organs. Eventually, when it was
sequenced, it was considered to be different enough from the invertebrate virus
to warrant its own group.
Trevor cautions that the pathology of ASF may be coincidental, but
everything I read about ASF mirrors what we see in CCD and bees. Survivors may be
carriers, losses may be sudden, but some linger and die, or slowly
recover. Devastating quick at times.
Now, the part that was left out - if IIV turns out to be the culprit, we
don't see a quick fix. Prevention may be better than a cure. However, as
with Mad Cow Disease, extermination is an extreme fix, something we'd want
to avoid, if possible. If not, someone would have to compensate the
beekeeper - and that gets into the gov/big brother argument.
I've been buried by e-mail and phones. Let this settle a bit, and then
I'd like a good discussion. One point I will make - both pathogens thrive in
cool, wet conditions. Neither tolerates or reproduces well in hot, dry.
This suggests some options:
Look for sunny beeyards. Stay out of fog bank areas. Don't split small
populations of bees in to two deep boxes. Keep those internal temps up.
Jerry
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