During 2006, both France and Germany have detected the disease and recognized the genetic sequence of N. ceranae in their respective territories.

In the United States, N. ceranae has been detected in honey bees from Nebraska, Wisconsin, Arkansas, New York, and South Dakota using PCR of the 16S gene.

[10] This pathogen has been tentatively linked to colony collapse disorder, a phenomenon reported primarily from the United States, since fall of 2006.

"Tests of genetic material taken from a "collapsed colony" in Merced County point to a once-rare microbe that previously affected only Asian bees but might have evolved into a strain lethal to those in Europe and the United States.

[19] In early 2009, Higes et al. reported an association between CCD and N. ceranae was established free of confounding factors, and that weakened colonies treated with fumagillin recovered.

Spores of N. ceranae seem to be slightly smaller under the light microscope and the number of polar filament coils is between 20 and 23, rather than the more than 30 often seen in N. apis.

This should help scientists trace its migration patterns, establish how it became dominant, and help measure the spread of infection by enabling diagnostic tests and treatments to be developed.

At fumagillin concentrations that continue to impact honey bee physiology, N. ceranae thrives and doubles its spore production.