RISK COMMUNICATION AND THE KILLER BEES - A CRITIQUE OF HEALTH AND MENTAL-HEALTH RISKS ADDRESSED IN THE TEXAS AFRICANIZED HONEY-BEE MANAGEMENT PLAN

The following is a critique of the public health and mental health components of the Texas Africanized Honey Been (AHB) Management Plan, that was developed under the coordination of the Texas Department of Agriculture to address environmental, economic, agricultural, and public health concerns associated with the introduction of the AHB (aka "killer bees") into Texas. The authors find the assertions and underlying assumptions relating to the public health impact of the AHB to be faulty, and note the complete absence of a mental health component in the plan. In response, this paper presents a crude model for estimating marginal increases in risk to humans, and makes recommendations for how public health and mental health risks could be better communicated to the public within the Texas AHB Management Plan.