In Sweden, no treatment is allowed for clinically diseased colonies. Instead a
stamping out policy is employed, which means that the bees have to be destroyed
and the contaminated equipment destroyed or thoroughly cleaned (Anon., 2002).
Several treatment strategies are allowed in other countries, such as treatment with
antibiotics and apicultural techniques like artificial swarming. Treatment with
antibiotics is not allowed in the EU, but is common in, for example, USA and
Canada where preventive treatments with antibiotics is considered a routine
procedure to avoid outbreaks of AFB. Not surprisingly, antibiotic resistant strains
of P. larvae have evolved (Miyagi et al., 2000). Another problem with this
practice is residues of antibiotics in honey and other hive products (Bogdanov,
2006).
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