Comments on: Honeybees can smell TB

By: Robert Sanders

Robert Sanders — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 06:05:00 +0000

Very interesting! Can the bees be trained to attack people with other afflictions as well?

By: Ashley Stewart

Ashley Stewart — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 04:17:00 +0000

The TB skin test, known as a PPD, does not test for active TB. Rather, it tests for TB antibodies. These antibodies could be present if you have TB, have been exposed to TB, or have had the TB vaccine. If a PPD is positive when read 48-72 hours after subcutaneous injection, one is then sent for a chest x-ray to look for lesions. If that is positive, then a sputum culture is done. This culture can take up to 2 months to confirm active or inactive TB.

This whole process is both lengthy and potentially expensive, especially because the highest incidence of TB is in poor countries. It would definitely be advantageous to get a cheap and instant answer from bees, though the practicality of it is questionable.

By: Itsumishi

Itsumishi — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 01:32:00 +0000

I’m guessing it would be more like an evolutionary training project. Bees that show signs of working out would get separated from the ones that don’t until eventually they’ve got an amazing breed of super-TB sniffing bees.

By: Rebecca Tarvin

Rebecca Tarvin — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 01:13:00 +0000

I was under the impression that bees only live for a few weeks… Would they have to be continually training new generations of TB bees? I’d vote on the research investment in dogs instead.

By: noah django

noah django — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 21:46:00 +0000

now we have PROOF that bees are bros!

By: Dominic Muren

Dominic Muren — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:24:00 +0000

While animal sensors may not be reliable enough as definitive tests for TB, they are certainly accurate enough for screening applications. Bart Weetjen’s org Apopo uses the gambian pouched rat to sniff out landmines, and to do large-scale screening of potential TB patients:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoRvdyuHxdE

In situations where TB rates are high, and test kits are scarce and difficult to get, these animals cut down on the need for test kits by a massive amount, and they are much more easily maintained than the comparable lab equipment (Wouldn’t it be cool if you could take a gas chromatograph for a walk at the park :)

By: Soni Pitts

Soni Pitts — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 07:17:00 +0000

“I’m covered in BEEEEES!”

“Noted – positive test result.”

By: cdh1971

cdh1971 — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 04:17:00 +0000

Honey badgers n’dogs flying around in one’s mouth, well, don’t knock it until you try it.

But yes, you’re right – bees are claimed to have a more accurate sense of smell than dogs. I guess this just depends on which being is more appropriate for the application :)

By: Spocko

Spocko — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 03:58:00 +0000

Homer: Bart, you’re going to be tested for TB.
Bart: But I’m afraid of needles!
Dr Nick: I suggest you be tested immediately or we’ll have to use other methods.
Homer: Like what? You’ll use dogs, or bees, or dogs with
bees in their mouths and when they bark they shoot bees at you?
Well, go ahead — do your test!

By: jimkirk

jimkirk — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 03:42:00 +0000

Nature, it’s just amazing.

By: Alvis

Alvis — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 01:10:00 +0000

I am the great Buzzholio! I smell TB from my beehive! ARE YOU THREATENING ME?

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:23:00 +0000

Teach killer bees to sniff it out, release them into wild, let them sting and kill the infected before it spreads. Suddenly, eradication!

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:16:00 +0000

Isn’t the TB skin test cheap, largely accurate, and widely available? This sounds like an utterly ridiculous solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.

When I worked in healthcare, I had to get a PPD done every six months. My 10,000 co-workers from the Phillipines, on the other hand, had to get chest x-rays every few years because false positives were the norm. If you haven’t been in a hospital lately, you might not have noticed that much of the staff comes from Asia.

By: James Kimbell

James Kimbell — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:54:00 +0000

I got a PPD skin test recently and the area became red and weird. The doctor said if I ever had to be tested again, she’d do an X-ray of my chest, to avoid whatever allergy I apparently had to the other thing. But if it’s now a choice between X-rays and bees…

By: First Last

First Last — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:45:00 +0000

I’d rather have a bee flying around in my mouth than a honey-badger or a dog.

(I know that bees are also claimed to have a more accurate sense of smell than dogs by firms training them to do explosives sniffing at airports)

By: Itsumishi

Itsumishi — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:40:00 +0000

No, no and not particularly.

I was exposed to TB working in a medical centre once (a rare condition in Australia). I had to undertake 2 blood tests and a chest x-ray, all months after the exposure because it takes a long while for symptoms to show up.

If bees can smell it down to parts per billion then perhaps they can detect it earlier than other testing methods.

By: cdh1971

cdh1971 — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:38:00 +0000

“Honeybees can smell TB”

So can honey-badgers (and dogs.)

By: Brainspore

Brainspore — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:33:00 +0000

Isn’t the TB skin test cheap, largely accurate, and widely available?

That depends on what you consider “cheap” and whether you live in a third-world country or not.

By: gwailo_joe

gwailo_joe — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:24:00 +0000

I just got tested last week; the red mark on my forearm still slowly fading away…

I have had ‘false positives’ in the past: mostly due to my fair skin… and medical personnel who didn’t really know what they were looking at. Caused me a fair amount of headache I must say.

But, upon reflection; still preferable to bees flying in my mouth.

By: Brainspore

Brainspore — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:24:00 +0000

They can also smell fear.

By: Henry Pootel

Henry Pootel — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:21:00 +0000

Good thing it’s called like TB and not TSLUG

By: hymenopterid

hymenopterid — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:14:00 +0000

Actually that just tests to see if you have developed the antibodies that result from being exposed to TB. It does not test for an active infection.

By: MrEricSir

MrEricSir — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:12:00 +0000

The TB skin test isn’t accurate at all, that’s the problem. It also doesn’t work if you’ve been vaccinated for TB in the past (it will return a false positive.)

By: fss

fss — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:11:00 +0000

“Alright, it’s time for your TB test”
“Not the bees, NOT THE BEEEEEEEEES!”

By: shannigans

shannigans — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Isn’t the TB skin test cheap, largely accurate, and widely available? This sounds like an utterly ridiculous solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.

By: MrEricSir

MrEricSir — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:59:00 +0000

Great, now you’ll have TB *and* a bunch of bee stings.