Virus called chief suspect in bee deaths

But researchers say they can't yet prove it's the cause of a disease that's killing American bee colonies in record numbers.
By Thomas H. Maugh II
Los Angeles Times

Scientists have found a virus that is associated with the destruction of a large fraction of American commercial bee colonies, but they have not been able to prove that it is the cause of the mysterious disease that has wreaked havoc on the bee industry.

The virus, called Israeli acute paralysis, may have been brought into the United States in bees imported from Australia. That importation was first permitted in 2004, about the same time that the new disease -- called Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD -- began appearing in this country.

Australian bees do not suffer from CCD, leading researchers to speculate that the virus acts synergistically with chemicals in the environment or with another infectious agent, such as the varroa mite, which is not common in Australia.

Experiments are underway to determine which combination of virus and chemical or infectious agent, if any, causes the disease, and researchers hope to have an answer this year. Researchers are also examining archived bee specimens to determine whether the virus was present before 2004.

"Our results indicate that [the virus] is a significant marker for CCD," said Dr. W. Ian Lipkin of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, a coauthor of the report published online today by the journal Science. "The next step is to ascertain whether [the virus], alone or in concert with other factors, can induce CCD in healthy bees."

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