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Summary
In this paper, we describe the use of epidemiological methods to understand and reduce honey bee morbidity and mortality. Essential terms are presented and defined and we also give examples for their use. Defining such terms as disease, population, sensitivity, and specificity, provides a framework for epidemiological comparisons. The term population, in particular, is quite complex for an organism like the honey bee because one can view “epidemiological unit” as individual bees, colonies, apiaries, or operations. The population of interest must, therefore, be clearly defined. Equations and explanations of how to calculate measures of disease rates in a population are provided. There are two types of study design; observational and experimental. The advantages and limitations of both are discussed. Approaches to calculate and interpret results are detailed. Methods for calculating epidemiological measures such as detection of rare events, associating exposure and disease (Odds Ratio and Relative Risk), and comparing prevalence and incidence are discussed. Naturally, for beekeepers, the adoption of any management system must have economic advantage. We present a means to determine the cost and benefit of the treatment in order determine its net benefit. Lastly, this paper presents a discussion of the use of Hill's criteria for inferring causal relationships. This framework for judging cause-effect relationships supports a repeatable and quantitative evaluation process at the population or landscape level. Hill's criteria disaggregate the different kinds of evidence, allowing the scientist to consider each type of evidence individually and objectively, using a quantitative scoring method for drawing conclusions. It is hoped that the epidemiological approach will be more broadly used to study and negate honey bee disease.
Resumen
En este trabajo se detalla el uso de métodos epidemiológicos para entender y reducir la morbilidad y la mortalidad de las abejas. Se presentan y definen algunos términos esenciales y también se ponen ejemplos de su uso. La definición de términos tales como enfermedad, población, sensibilidad y especificidad, proporciona un marco de referencia para las comparaciones epidemiológicas. El término población, en particular, es muy complejo en un organismo como la abeja de la miel, porque uno puede ver la “unidad epidemiológica” como las abejas individuales, las colonias, los colmenares o incluso, determinadas operaciones. La población de interés debe, por lo tanto, estar claramente definida. Se proporcionan además ecuaciones y explicaciones sobre cómo calcular las medidas de la tasas de enfermedad en una población.
本文详述了如何应用流行病学的研究方法，探明和降低蜜蜂发病率及死亡率。同时还对一些关键术语进行了定义，并举例和说明了它们的用途。定义了诸如：疾病、群体、敏感性和特异性等术语，为流行病学比较研究提供了框架。“群体”的含义在蜜蜂学研究中是比较复杂的，研究者可将一个蜜蜂的个体、一个蜂群、一个蜂场或某项实验定义为一个“流行病学研究单位”。所以，在开展流行病学研究时必须对所研究的群体加以明确定义。本文还阐述了如何评价群体的发病程度，并给出了相关的计算公式和注解。