Hi Bob and All,

You mentioned On Thu, 6 Oct 2005 09:59:33 -0500, "We get reports of AFB at
our club from beekeepers with new equipment getting AFB in their hives.
Rare but happens!"

If the bees in such a scenario did not get American foulbrood from robbing
a weak hive perhaps AFB spores were carried in the wax foundation.

Currently beeswax foundation has been available at a fairly stable and
reasonable price over the years. Prices would increase substantially if
change to the manufacturing process of beeswax based foundations such as
crimpwire and cut comb foundation to name just a few would require the
inclusion of treatment for foulbrood spores.  Somewhere there is a cost
analysis of same hiding in a file cabinet.  If a super strain of AFB were
to evolve; well, it is just possible that it could quickly be disseminated
all across the country and not by wax alone.

Chuck Norton
Reidsville, NC

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