Afb

[user 6228]

In the UK the pattern of AFB incidence, i.e. isolated with no reccurance, suggest that the infections are now from imported contaminated honey according to a source in the NBU.
Thus unless we can persuade the general public to wash out their jars of honey before disposal, or impose a total ban on imports of honey, we will have to live with the levels of AFB we have.

 

[pargyle]

In the UK the pattern of AFB incidence, i.e. isolated with no reccurance, suggest that the infections are now from imported contaminated honey according to a source in the NBU.
Thus unless we can persuade the general public to wash out their jars of honey before disposal, or impose a total ban on imports of honey, we will have to live with the levels of AFB we have.

No hope of either ... Some of the 'British Public' are dirty sods who have no social conscience ... I followed a car yesterday, in broad daylight, who heaved a McDonalds bag and an empty shake cup out of the window into the roadway .. the car went off on a side road so could not get the reg number - not that anything would be done anyway if you reported it !

In Wickes car park later on in the day - in one parking space, three bags of plaster slurry and shreds of plasterboard clearly left by someone - probably a 'professional' plasterer who could not be bothered to dispose of his waste legitimately.

What chance of getting some people to wash jars out ... Nil !

 

[REDWOOD]

Remove the source from the UK. Do what other countries do

 

[ladaok]

I seem to have sorted the k/b problem, Those stats suggested by alldigging, really need to be collated against total hive numbers, verses AFB infected, to give a yearly %. from which you could see a long term trend

One thing I note, is the prevalence of EFB ...Are the infected hives destroyed or drugged ?

mazzamazda raises some bloody good questions. Have we been mislead by science ? If as they say, EVERY hive has AFB spores. Is eradication even possible ? What turns a benign hive to one showing ' clinical ' symptoms ?

 

[foghornleghorn]

The best tactic against afb would be just breed very hygienic bees, can't remember the exact numbers but if the infected larvae is removed within 3 days (I think) it's gone before the spores have developed. There was a proper account of this in breeding superbees.

 

[Finman]

The best tactic against afb would be just breed very hygienic bees, can't remember the exact numbers but if the infected larvae is removed within 3 days (I think) it's gone before the spores have developed. There was a proper account of this in breeding superbees.

Those have been bred 80 years.... So far.
But it does not work.

I buy at once if I get such.
.

But then EFB is easy to avoid when you change genepool to immune stock. But British beekeepers are not interested about that.
.

If you read about AFB control, there is no such advice as "change the Queen".

.

 

[pargyle]

One thing I note, is the prevalence of EFB ...Are the infected hives destroyed or drugged ?

Again, the UK is not somewhere where EFB is endemic .. we see it more frequently than AFB and it is still notifiable .. but, the treatment is a shook swarm onto new frames or foundation - elsewhere in the world it is permitted to treat with antibiotics (Oxytetracycline) but in the UK we are not allowed.

If it persists a change of queen is often recommended.

Seems to work for us in the UK as we don't see a high incidence rate.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

In the UK the pattern of AFB incidence, i.e. isolated with no reccurance, suggest that the infections are now from imported contaminated honey according to a source in the NBU.
Thus unless we can persuade the general public to wash out their jars of honey before disposal, or impose a total ban on imports of honey, we will have to live with the levels of AFB we have.

I've not looked at all the reported incidents but certainly I've found imported packing stations are found in the locality of those I have. No doubt the bee inspectors are aware of them and will be on the case pdq

 

[user 6228]

I've not looked at all the reported incidents but certainly I've found imported packing stations are found in the locality of those I have. No doubt the bee inspectors are aware of them and will be on the case pdq

Apparently the packing people have cleaned up their act vis biosecurity so i'm told e.g. all drums stored indoors etc.., so the frequency of them being a source has diminshed

 

[Beefriendly]

Again, the UK is not somewhere where EFB is endemic .. we see it more frequently than AFB and it is still notifiable .. but, the treatment is a shook swarm onto new frames or foundation - elsewhere in the world it is permitted to treat with antibiotics (Oxytetracycline) but in the UK we are not allowed.

It is allowed in the UK if authorized by an NBU inspector for treatment of EFB. It was their choice of treatment for one of the members on this list who simply jumped the gun on starting the treatments leading to his court case. Also the other "treatment" for EFB is to destroy the colony....this is usually used as a last resort or for very small colonies that are unlikely to survive a shook swarm.

 

[For want of a better word]

There are a lot of educational events about diseases every year.
Bee disease days are a great thing to go on.

.

Must admit the BDI funded event I attended a couple of years back ( I think it was one of the first... held at Lostwithiel( Bodmin group CBKA).... was interesting..... and informative..

However I did raise my concern about the possible lack of Biosecurity when looking at "live" frames of AFB and EFB !

I burned my clothing and the car seat covers when I got home... had all my hair shaved off and after bathing in Dettol took seven showers at one hourly intervals!
Biosecurity or simple hygienic behavior seems to come hard to some
I am very concerned that a local ( so called) beekeeping co-op seems to have a lackadaisical approach to the use of a filthy communal extracting facility, where, unless things have changed... all and sundry beekeepers full super frames are piled atop each other.... before and after extraction!

How infectious are there horrible diseases?

Some hope to get the great unwashed to wash out empty honey jars.... let alone stop importing the stuff from far and away!


Does not answer the OP... but we as responsible beekeeperers should never miss the opportunity to ram home the Biosecurity message

Pask lowen

 

[Nige.Coll]

I know beekeepers that stack their supers for cleaning after extraction in the apiary with no floor.
Strange how that area has efb every year almost.
Funny how people are open about bad practices.

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

 

[mazzamazda]

I seem to have sorted the k/b problem, Those stats suggested by alldigging, really need to be collated against total hive numbers, verses AFB infected, to give a yearly %. from which you could see a long term trend

One thing I note, is the prevalence of EFB ...Are the infected hives destroyed or drugged ?

mazzamazda raises some bloody good questions. Have we been mislead by science ? If as they say, EVERY hive has AFB spores. Is eradication even possible ? What turns a benign hive to one showing ' clinical ' symptoms ?

A thousand dollar question, for me I think high varroa load, stress from moving a hive, maybe swarmed or requeening. Richard Noel pointed out Mike Palmer said to reduce AFB breed out chalkbrood. My last hive I burned had chalkbrood last year, the only colony and it swarmed in December. I maintain very early ID is the key.

 

[mazzamazda]

Must admit the BDI funded event I attended a couple of years back ( I think it was one of the first... held at Lostwithiel( Bodmin group CBKA).... was interesting..... and informative..

However I did raise my concern about the possible lack of Biosecurity when looking at "live" frames of AFB and EFB !

I burned my clothing and the car seat covers when I got home... had all my hair shaved off and after bathing in Dettol took seven showers at one hourly intervals!
Biosecurity or simple hygienic behavior seems to come hard to some
I am very concerned that a local ( so called) beekeeping co-op seems to have a lackadaisical approach to the use of a filthy communal extracting facility, where, unless things have changed... all and sundry beekeepers full super frames are piled atop each other.... before and after extraction!

How infectious are there horrible diseases?

Some hope to get the great unwashed to wash out empty honey jars.... let alone stop importing the stuff from far and away!


Does not answer the OP... but we as responsible beekeeperers should never miss the opportunity to ram home the Biosecurity message

Pask lowen

I actually dont think AFB is that infectious, I didnt even bother to scortch my old hive out last year and its fine, no sign of AFB a year on. Dont get me wrong, a pot of alcohol is at the site and I burn the hive tool and clean after every hive, I dont go overboard though. I have had a horrendous time though and in 2014 I burned over 50 hives. I dont panic now, i treat, burn the frames, save the bees and spot signs early, for me its no different now to checking for eggs, maybe a queen or varroa.

 

[mazzamazda]

[URL=http://s750.photobucket.com/user/mazzamark/media/DSC_8631.jpg.html] [/URL]

 

[mbc]

I'm zooming in on some of those larvae and they look like sac brood to me. I'll see if it's clearer on a larger screen.

 

[mazzamazda]

They look very similar. This is the very start of AFB. I had one cell that roped. The larvae that died and went dark would within a few days become the ropey sludge that's familiar with AFB. The bees don't/can't remove the larvae, spores fed to young larvae and so it continues.

 

[ladaok]

WE allow absolutely NO importation of any bee product !

Use of drugs or shook swarm methods is highly illegal

The classic sign of AFB is the prominent extended tongue of the desiccated pupae

I wonder if dirty old comb, is a contributor ?

I have heard, that in Asia, ANY disease is handled by replacing the Queen

 

[Hivemaker.]

WE allow absolutely NO importation of any bee product !

Our top scientists in this disease, acknowledge that, 99.999% of all hives in NZ have AFB !!

Be helpful to stop exporting as well if the above is true in NZ.

A NZ government did allow the import of one bee product at least, drone semen.

Looks like they allow several other bee related products as well.....

Bee Products - Ministry for Primary Industries
www.mpi.govt.nz/document-vault/6427
Products issued on 13 November 2006 and the Importation into New Zealand of ... Commercial consignments of products imported into New Zealand for human ..

Importations to New Zealand

Using this IHS, a total of 100 doses of semen were imported from one institute in Germany and another in Austria in early June 2004. A second importation, totalling 140 doses, arrived in early August 2004 from the same two institutes, as well as from another German institute. Both importations were more successful then I dared hope.

I went to Europe and picked the semen up myself for the first importation, and carried it back on my person. While I was at the German institute at Kirchhain I had a good look at the stock from which the semen was sourced and was very impressed. The bees were beautiful, very gentle and very quiet.

http://www.queenbees.co.nz/view4.shtml

http://www.queenbees.co.nz/index.shtml

 

[REDWOOD]

Dormant diseases can be undetected for long periods of time, AFB is no exception and can be undetected for 50 years, bees with a good immune system will never have a case of AFB. I supose really it all about the genes, although temperature has a big impact on bacteria.