I read the little blurb at the bottom from the link Jim posted 1/25/2008.
  What it says to me is that the hives treated in a way that should kill all 
pathogens had a survival rate of 70 out of 100 hives, and the ones without 
had a surival rate of 50 out of 100 hives....
  Does anybody know how a  similiar testing of sterilized vs non-sterized 
"non-CCD" deadouts would fare? I would think one would  expect at least a 
slightly higher survival rate with sterilized equipment. Perhaps this has 
been addressed, if so I would be interested in the findings.
  Thanks,
  John Horton


  From link provided:
  "Those colonies treated with acetic acid, the control colonies and those 
put on just honey comb were all reporting about a 50% loss late in November. 
The colonies that had been irradiated showed a 70% survival rate, which, in 
the world of commercial beekeeping isn't too bad, unfortunately. And, though 
not perfect, it seems that the irradiated colonies, by faring better, point 
to some relationship between a living organism and CCD, though there is some 
speculation that irradiation will cause some pesticides to break down too, 
so that hasn't been ruled out."

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