[Knisely]

Does anyone know a beekeeper in the US, Canada, Europe, or anywhere who has been infected with the pandemic coronavirus? There are some possible leads from China that may indicate a level of resistance in people who get stung (occupationally). There needs to be some corroborative information to make it worth pursuing this further, I think. Anecdotes are acceptable at this point, and then some real science can be done if the anecdotes support a differential immunity induced by exposure to bee venom.

http://apitherapy.blogspot.com/2020/05/does-bee-venom-apitherapy-prevent-covid.html?m=1

 

[Bee Arthur]

An obituary search shows beekeepers are not immune to death by COVID-19. I personally wouldn't put any stock into this claim without multiple, peer-reviewed, double-blind scientific studies. Beekeepers should take precautions the same way anyone else does.

 

[Knisely]

Hi: Thank you for bringing up the recommendation to use appropriate precautions for one's own personal safety. That's not the point of my posting.

I am unfamiliar with how to do an 'obituary search', and would appreciate your sharing that datagathering approach.

As I indicated in the original post, anecdotes are sufficient at present...if nobody can provide any first or second hand information about a beekeeper (who gets stung often enough that the stings are merely incidental events) who caught COVID (and was not severely ill) or died from COVID, that is information that corroborates the first reported data from China.

Here is a link to a letter to the editor published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal of toxinology (the official journal of the International Society on Toxinology and the North American Society of Toxinology) that prompted this posting...https://tinyurl.com/y95vjk2a that shows data from China on COVID infection among beekeepers and individuals who attended an apitherapy clinic in Hubei province (where the coronavirus infection arose in Wuhan).

 

[Gray Goose]

Hi: Thank you for bringing up the recommendation to use appropriate precautions for one's own personal safety. That's not the point of my posting.

I am unfamiliar with how to do an 'obituary search', and would appreciate your sharing that datagathering approach.

As I indicated in the original post, anecdotes are sufficient at present...if nobody can provide any first or second hand information about a beekeeper (who gets stung often enough that the stings are merely incidental events) who caught COVID (and was not severely ill) or died from COVID, that is information that corroborates the first reported data from China.

Here is a link to a letter to the editor published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal of toxinology (the official journal of the International Society on Toxinology and the North American Society of Toxinology) that prompted this posting...https://tinyurl.com/y95vjk2a that shows data from China on COVID infection among beekeepers and individuals who attended an apitherapy clinic in Hubei province (where the coronavirus infection arose in Wuhan).

Interesting Article Knisely,
Makes one wonder at how nature is interlaced.
thanks for sharing

GG

 

[msl]

People see what they want to see? kinda like marijuana cures canser and everything elce (at lest on the internet), but its big pharm blocking everyting

Hubei has a pop of 58,500,000
so you have a 0.00874% chance of being a beekeeper
current Covid-19 confirmed cases in Hubei 67,803
so you had a 0.1159% of catching it and showing symptoms
mean while we know from currant anti body study's you have a 15% chance of catching it with no symptoms, and in highly impacted areas like NY a 25% chance of being infected with no symptoms.

So out of the beekeeper sample size you would expect 5.9 of them to have shown symptoms and 0.295 of them to have died form the virus

With out an estimate of how many beekeepers in the area its hard to say.. But given the majority of china's bee keepers are mom and pop (literary) a couple with maby a part time assistant or 2 running 50-150 hives,
I am guessing it would be quite easy to miss the 5- 6 or so people that had some symptoms. kinda like a mite wash of 0/300 dosn't mean your hive is mite free

I am going to guess we will soon hear the praises of vespa amino acid (murder hornet juice) for covid 19🤣
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59llvtTKRmE
and yes, US customes has intercepted several hornet shipments that were being brought in a food source

 

[grozzie2]

I can say with absolute 100% certainty that beekeepers can, and have, contracted Covid-19.

 

[BernhardHeuvel]

Beekeepers and beekeepers are two different groups. The one group takes bee stings. The other wear bee suits+veils+gloves and are very shy of stings. It is bee venom, that seem to work against SARS-COV-2. If you don't get stings regularly, you don't get bee venom...

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041010120302245

 

[Gray Goose]

I can say with absolute 100% certainty that beekeepers can, and have, contracted Covid-19.

Right Gozzie, since 60-70 percent of the USA will in time have the antibody, getting it is perhaps a given.

the bigger question, is did the keeper have full blown or light symptoms
did the keeper die or survive
did the keeper get stings often, some suit up and do not get many stings.
Did the stings have an effect on the severity?

BTW I can also say with 100% certainty Bee keepers can get COVID

I would place chips on the spot that says the severity is less and they have a higher survival rate than the unstung.

GG

 

[SL Tx]

87% of statistics are made up on the spot

 

[BernhardHeuvel]

Beekeepers who tolerate bee stings are not protected against SARS-CoV-2 infections

Highlights
• Among German beekeepers, we found two coronavirus-associated deaths and 45 cases of coronavirus infection.
• Previous exposure to bee venom does not seem to reduce susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2.
• Reaction to bee stings correlates with the perceived severity of the SARS-CoV-2 symptoms: exhaustion and sore throat.

Abstract
A survey on 5115 beekeepers and 121 patients treated with bee venom by an apitherapy clinic in the Hubei province, the epicenter of COVID-19 in China, reported that none of the beekeepers developed symptoms associated with COVID-19, the new and devastating pandemic. The hypothesis that immunity to bee venom could have a preventive effect was expressed and the authors of the Chinese survey suggested that the next step should be animal experiments on monkeys.

We believed that before starting such studies, a second independent survey should verify the findings and define the hypothesis more clearly. Thus we asked all German beekeepers to complete an assessment form which would summarize their experiences with COVID-19. In contrast to the Chinese study we found that two beekeepers had died from a SARS-CoV-2 infection and forty-five were affected. The reaction to bee stings (none; mild swelling; severe swelling) correlated with the perceived severity of the SARS-CoV-2-infection-associated symptoms - exhaustion and sore throat. Beekeepers comorbidity correlated with problems with breathing at rest, fever, and diarrhea.

Our results did not confirm the findings of the Chinese study. However, since the antiviral effects of bee venom have been found in several studies, we cannot exclude that there could be a direct preventive or alleviating effect when bee venom is administered during the infection.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041010120304086

Beekeepers who tolerate bee stings are not protected against SARS-CoV-2 infections, Heidrun Männle, Jutta Hübner, Karsten Münstedt, Toxicon, Volume 187, November 2020, Pages 279-284, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2020.10.004

 

[HarryVanderpool]

Just speaking for myself; the main reason for immunity from human transmitted diseases is the almost total lack of contact with other humans.
As a beekeeper, I have never caught a cold or flue from insects.

 

[beemandan]

Beekeepers who tolerate bee stings are not protected against SARS-CoV-2 infections

Highlights
• Among German beekeepers, we found two coronavirus-associated deaths and 45 cases of coronavirus infection.

Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be enough information in either of the two ‘studies’….at least from this post.
I know ‘beekeepers’ who have a couple of hives, wear jackets, gloves and veils on those occasions that they open their hives and rarely, if ever get stung. I guess I’d like to see more information on those who got covid.
I think a survey of active apitherapy patients might be more meaningful.
Make no mistake….I have no opinion on this but find it an interesting curiousity.
PS I have not had covid….or at least haven’t had any symptoms.