stoping EFB Disease transfer after visit

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my employer has asked me to a meet a summer Bee inspector (with my Bee Suit) to oversea the burning of hives if EFB is confirmed ,at a site my employer owns and rent out to two Beekeeper ( in this world of sueing everthing, my employer wants to ensure it is done safely)

what pre caution do you think ...i should take after to stop me infecting my bees

I think

Use my spare suit,
hot 60c wash it ASAP with soda
wash boots in soda
and tools ( not wishing to use mine anyway) in soda if used.
use only nitrol disposalable glove?

Anything else?
 
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Maybe consider going fully disposable for the day...then you can burn/dispose of everything well away from your own apiary and wash your hands well after!
 
Virkon S will kill EFB bacteria on boots and hive tools etc - you can spray it on, but this would not be practical for the suit. I would give it a soak in something like Nappisan overnight or some other simliar bug killing stuff. 60C will not kill all the bacteria so you need some additional chemical treatment.

And as suggested above a disposable boiler suit over your bee suit would be a wise additional precaution.
 
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Other countries recommend that change the queens to the restistant stock.

80% acetic acid fome kills EFB spores.

Put all in plastic bag and ice acetic in and warm place.
 
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Dont go would be the safest option. The SBI should know how it is done and wont need watching.
 
My thoughts were "EFB and burning? Why?"

Sounds like a recipe for litigation there.

AFB - yes, but not EFB. And if it were AFB, I would not want my kit there at all.

Regards, RAB
 
Obviously you only need to go if efb or afb is confirmed, and only to oversee the burning,so there is no need for you to touch anything in the apairy regarding the bee's,the bee inspector and owners of the bee's will be doing it,and the said bee's will already be dead,killed the night before.
 
my thoughts were "efb and burning? Why?"

sounds like a recipe for litigation there.

defra responce is burn all efb hives


afb - yes, but not efb. And if it were afb, i would not want my kit there at all.

Regards, rab

if its AFB i will burn me wellies bee suit etc


going down the route of nappisan and coveralls...and try not to touch hives
 
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defra responce is burn all efb hive


Yes,depends on the severity of the infection,percentage of infected brood,beyond a certain point its destroy the colony,if light infection then shook swarm, or treat with oxytetracycline,or both,unless the owner would prefer them destroyed.
 
If you are there only as an observer? A) Avoid touching things and B) wash your suit afterwards. 60degrees is fine.

The inspector should provide you disposable gloves and will also use all their own tools. They will also have washing solution and should allow you to disinfect your boots as well.

The risk is negligible. When our club apiary had EFB, we had the entire club there to observe, and just a few members handling the frames (with the RBI/SBI coordinating). Just be sure to wash your suit. It's a valuable learning experience and you should see it as a positive than a negative.

Adam
 
These last two guys know what they are talking about. If you don't touch, the risk is negligible. A nurse bee needs to deliver a decent number of live bacteria to a very young larva for the infection to get going, so you don't need to kill every last spore.

EFB spreads much more readily than AFB.

EFB colonies are only compulsorily destroyed if highly infected (> 50% open brood), or if weak (they can't defend themselves from robbers), or if the inspector and beekeeper agree.

I'd use disposable gloves, and soak the bee suit in disinfectant then stick in the washing machine.

G.
 
i agree. efb lives quite often subclinically making it a bugger to get rid of once youve got it. burn afb and 99.9% of the time youve got rid of it
given a choice if I had to have one or the other.............
 

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