Can a colony get CBPV in winter?

[Olivia9801]

Are colonies just as vulnerable in the winter to CBPV or not?

 

[Olivia9801]

Think I asked a very difficult question!

 

[Jules59]

I would say less vulnerable simply because the are flying a lot less and therefore less likely to make contact with infected bees outside the hive.
The two colonies of mine which developed CBPV were large, expanding and healthy colonies (until signs appeared) so maybe pressure within the hive is a factor too; which would be less during winter.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I suspect they are and some colony winter losses are indeed due to CBPV, after all they are crammed tightly together

 

[Ian123]

As Dani above bees are clustered so you’d expect that to be good conditions for it to be passed about, so I’d expect some some losses.
Simple fact is there’s not a huge amount of research on the subject.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I've witnessed CBPV in a hive midwinter, all the classic signs - they survived into the next season but unfortunately were lost when marauding sheep pushed the hive into a river in spate.

 

[ericbeaumont]

vulnerable in the winter

less vulnerable simply because the are flying a lot less

Close contact is a significant tranmission route so the outcome depends whether your colony is healthy going into winter (then Jules' supposition is valid) or infected, in which case Dani, JBM and Ian are the harbingers of doom.

I had a couple of outbreaks several years ago and found that spring infection of strong colonies led to survival, but mid-late summer infection to decline and death. I interpreted this as the ability of a colony to replace bees quicker in the first half of the year than the disease could remove them.

Recurring infection either side of winter led me to terminate and burn one colony.

 

[Olivia9801]

So it can happen in the winter. Many thanks for your replies and information on your experiences with cbpv.

Hope you all have a good season this year!