World’s First Vaccine For Honeybees Approved In US: It was created to prevent the spread of American foulbrood disease, a bacterial infection that harms bee larvae and is known to harm colonies.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), according to the biotech company that developed it, granted a provisional license for the vaccination this week.
Bees play an essential role in environmental processes and are crucial pollinators.
According to the CEO of Dylan Animal Health, Annette Kleiser, the immunization could be a “breakthrough in maintaining honey bees.”
It introduces an inactive form of the bacteria into the royal jelly the queen consumes, providing immunity to her larvae.
According to the USDA, honey bee colonies have been falling yearly in the US since 2006.
According to the USDA, colony collapse disorder occurs when worker bees abandon a hive and leave the queen behind, it is caused by many sporadic converging factors, including parasites, pests, and disease.
The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations estimates that pollinators like bees, birds, and bats are responsible for around one-third of the world’s food output.
American foulbrood disease is an issue for beekeepers since it is incurable and highly contagious. The only treatment is to fire the infected bee colony and its hives and tools and to give antibiotics to bees in other areas.
In the novel vaccination, the bacteria Paenibacillus larvae that causes American foulbrood disease is dormant, according to Dylan Animal Health.
The bacteria are allegedly put into the royal jelly feed given by worker bees to the queen bee, who then consumes the meal and retains some of the immunization in her ovaries, according to the biotech company specializing in insect health and immunology.
According to legend, this gives developing bee larvae immunity and reduces disease-related deaths.
The new immunization may be “an optimistic step forward for beekeepers,” according to Trevor Tauzer, a California State Beekeepers Association board member.
He explained, “If we can stop an infection in our hives, we may avoid expensive treatments and concentrate our work on other crucial components of keeping our bees healthy.
According to Dylan, the vaccine will likely be offered in the US this year, and he has plans to distribute it to commercial beekeepers “on a limited basis.”
