Bee inspection data from England and Wales shows the number of chronic bee paralysis cases increased exponentially between 2007 and 2017, demonstrating chronic bee paralysis as an emergent disease. Characteristic symptoms of the disease include abnormal trembling, flightlessness and shiny, hairless abdomens. Infected individuals die within a week leading to mounds of dead bees outside affected colonies, which sometimes collapse or are too weakened for pollination or honey production.

Chronic bee paralysis was found to be higher in hives managed by professional beekeepers compared to those of amateur beekeepers. Clusters of the disease outbreak appeared to be related to the importation of queens or packages of bees used to repopulate honeybee colonies. Researchers found the disease is highly clustered spatially within most years, suggesting local spread; but not spatially clustered between years, suggesting the disease burnt out in a given area before returning as part of periodic reintroduction through bee importation.

You can find a link to this research at secondstoryhoney.com/honeybee-news