Recent writing reflects the current thinking on "CCD", what is it, where are we now? 

> CCD is a complex disorder that is not well defined. Although a group of authors has agreed on the symptoms associated with CCD, the symptoms are vague and could result from many different causes. For this reason, not all bee researchers are in agreement that CCD is actually a specific disease, suggesting instead that it is a collection of symptoms with many possible causes, including N. ceranae infections, varroa mite infestation, and abiotic factors such as chronic pesticide exposure (Anderson and East, 2008). From personal experience (R. R. James), commercial beekeepers and apiary inspectors use the term loosely to describe any large losses they experience, even when they are certain of the cause (such as varroa mite infestation or pesticide exposure). For example, one apiary inspector said that CCD in his area was caused mainly by varroa mites, and a commercial beekeeper in the same area expressed that "his" CCD was due to pesticide poisonings. 

> The loose manner in which CCD is defined by beekeepers makes records and surveys taken from beekeepers difficult to interpret. The situation may be similar to that described by Bailey and Ball (1991) for the Isle of Wight disease in the British Isles: "There are all kinds of possible reasons for the death of bees, apart from infections, and there is little doubt that bees dying of noninfectious diseases were often included in the casualties attributed to the Isle of Wight disease". At that time, the conviction that Isle of Wight disease was indeed an infectious disease led to the determination that it was caused by tracheal mites, a conclusion that was disputed by some scientists (Bailey and Ball, 1991). It can be very difficult to determine the reason why a colony dies, and therefore, many kinds of mortalities are often included as CCD, complicating the discovery of the real cause.

QUOTED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY FROM:
From Silkworms to Bees: Diseases of Beneficial Insects. Rosalind R. James, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Logan, Utah, USA, and Zengzhi Li, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anjui, China. Copyright 
 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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