Hello everyone,
   A longtime beekeeper in our area died a few years back, the apiary was left unattended for the last 3 years and the majority of the bees are gone.  The equipment is in ok shape and still useable, not pretty but not terrible.  A rumor has circulated that there was AFB in some of the hives (the apiary was 30 all in one area), however a couple other beekeepers who helped with the apiary during the illness, said they never saw any indication of AFB.  The frames have already been scraped so post facto inspection is not possible.   So here is my basic question, can the specter of AFB be enough to justify destroying the equipment?   I am fairly certain that the hives were not tested for AFB

1) could a 30 hive apiary have AFB in some hives and not have it spread to the entire or vast majority of the apiary?
2) Is it possible for an experience beekeeper to scrape out the old combs without noticing an AFB killed hive
3) If one decided to use that equipment, would extra diligence in looking for the appearance of AFB be reasonable to mitigate the risk to neighboring hives?
4) would you allow a new beekeeper to use it

This is a very difficult situation because of the fact that we have beekeepers that worked the hives who saw no signs and one of them scraped the old combs.  I personally find it hard to believe that if AFB were present it could be missed, but I have no hands on experience with AFB.  

Thanks, Mark

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