Read below this first article for details on what EMS personnel need to know about Africanized honey bees and how you should respond and plan for incidents.

By EMS1 Staff

CLEBURNE, Texas — The condition of an 83-year-old man attacked by a swarm of bees was improving Thursday.

Kenneth Dumas was attacked in his backyard Monday evening while mowing his lawn and was taken to the hospital in a serious condition, The Cleburne Times-Review reported.

Two CareFlite ambulance crew members received multiple bee stings when they arrived on scene. Two firefighters also suffered several stings during the rescue but were not seriously injured.

The ambulance crew members received 20 to 30 stings each, Mark Kessler, CareFlite director of ground operations, told The Cleburne Times-Review. Both were treated and released at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne and were doing much better on Tuesday, he added.

Cleburne Fire Chief Clint Ishmael said Thursday the condition of the patient was improving. He said the behavior of the bees in Monday’s incident was indicative of an Africanized colony.

“We have been dealing with Africanized honey bees in our area for about 10 years now,” Chief Ishmael told EMS1. “However, we generally don’t see the kind of situation like this where the patient is still being actively attacked when we arrive.”

Chief Ishmael said the man fled the lawnmower when the bees began to attack and went into his house to call 911, but the bees followed him. He then ran out of the front door, grabbed a water hose and tried to wash them off of himself.

“That’s when the ambulance crew arrived and saw him on the front porch, and couldn’t quite tell what was going on,” Chief Ishmael said. “They ran toward the patient, which is when the bees attacked them, too.”

One of the paramedics made an attempt to get the patient to the ambulance and carried him about halfway across the yard, but the attacks became too much for him. He had to leave the patient to run to the ambulance to try to get a sheet, according to Chief Ishmael.

“The fire truck was about 15 seconds behind the ambulance,” he said. “The firefighters had their turnouts on, which is something that benefitted them as it does provide some sort of protection.

“They were able to deploy a hose quickly and sprayed the patient and the EMS crew. Using the foam, they were able to knock the bees off and it worked well. One of my firefighters then drove the ambulance to the hospital with the patient and two paramedics in the back.”

Chief Ishmael said size-up and situational awareness are vital in such incidents.

“You also need to be thinking about the call as you’re going to it,” he said. “Turnout gear does help, but if you don’t have that, even an N-95 respirator can help to cover your mouth and nose, as bees can be attracted to your breath.”

Cleburne Fire Chief Clint Ishmael said the behavior of the bees in Monday’s incident was indicative of an Africanized colony. The Africanized honey bee is a hybrid of one of several European honey bee subspecies and the African honey bee, according to the Africanized Honey Bee Emergency Planning Guide by the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

In 1956, a geneticist brought African queens to Brazil with the idea of developing a superior honeybee more suited to tropical conditions. Bees from 26 experimental stations interbred in the wild with European honey bees, resulting in Africanized offspring.

Moving northward, they have since spread throughout South America, Mexico and parts of the United States — including Texas.

“The Emergency Response to Africanized Honey Bees” video — produced by Bryan Bledsoe, BeeAlert and A Bear Productions — says if an EMS or fire crew is called to care for a victim of bee stings, it’s best to assume the offending insect is an Africanized honey bee.

Each agency must have an Africanized Honey Bee Response Plan, particularly in areas where they are known to exist, it adds. The response plan should include a list of specialized responders such as local bee keepers, exterminators and entomologists.

Agencies should develop and maintain a “Do Not Deploy List” of personnel known to be allergic to bee stings — on-duty personnel with such documented allergies should not be responding to bee sting incidents.

Bunker gear, which affords fair protection against Africanized honey bees, can be improved by duct taping the interface areas of the gear. A protective bee hood is much better protection than typical EMS and fire helmets and face shields.

Wherever possible, the video explains, responses to an Africanized honey bee attack should include at least one ambulance and one firefighting vehicle.

Africanized honey bees are a biological hazard, says the video, and many of the same principals of responding to a hazmat incident should apply. The appropriate response depends on the situation. View the video, above right, for full instructions on developing response plans and the different tactics involved in approaching Africanized honey bee incidents.