Hi Erichalfbee and jenkinsbrynmair
thanks for the Link to "CBPV as a serious emerging threat to honey bees", I had already read it with interest.
A quick glance at "Honey bee pathology" (Bailey et al.) confirms that the virus can be spread by injecting, feeding or spraying the bees with it, this is what jenkinsbrynmair has described already, as a possible means of the virus spreading inside the hive once it has become established within the hive. It is noted that infection through injection is most effective, (at least 10000 times more effective), and that Acarapis woodi pierce the tracheal walls with their mouth parts to feed on the haemolymph...
Here's a direct quote (brackets and emphasis added for clarification), "investigations of sick colonies found severely infested in summer with (Acarapis woodi) mites showed that, whereas both sick and apparently healthy bees from the colonies were infested about equally with A. woodi the sick bees
only were
all infected with chronic paralysis virus (CBPV)", that means that it was ONLY the Acarapis woodi mite infested bees that had CPBV. Now I know what you are about to say, correlation is not causation, you're right, and in the spirit of full disclosure (and to argue against my own arguement...)
Bailey's opinion of a relationship was, "(Acarapis woodi) parasite is also widespread and enzootic (endemic),
but is independent of paralysis (CBPV)"
I had thought that it was accepted that there was a
co-existence between these mites and this virus, (not a cause and effect, like varroa and DWV) it appears I was wrong. And this interesting observation made by Bailey has been dismissed.
HOWEVER, some years ago when I had just started out beekeeping, I was in the No Treatment camp, at the end of the second year my dozen hives all had large numbers of flightless bees with K wings, all symptoms of CBPV, not to mention a lot of Varroa (but surprisingly not that much DWV). I had read about Acarine, etc. etc. and believed bees only had CBPV with Acarapis mites, so I treated for Varroa (I read it would affect A. woodi as well) and in about 10 to 14 days, the flightless bees and the K wings were virtually gone.
All I'm saying, whenever I saw what I believed to be CBPV, I treated as if for Varroa, to kill of the Acarapis woodi mite to get rid of CBPV, it worked for me, but I could have got lucky...
Hope I haven't caused confusion / annoyance, etc. I'm just adding to a discussion, with my opinions / observations