The US Department of Agriculture has granted conditional approval for the use of the first ever honey bee vaccination to prevent insects from a lethal bacterial disease.
Honey bees are known for their honey-making abilities and their role as pollinators for many plants, including many agricultural crops. They pollinate flowers as they collect nectar and pollen to use as food for the hive. Without bees, many plants would not be able to reproduce and produce fruit.
The new vaccine is considered to be “a breakthrough in protecting honeybees,” as Annette Kleiser, chief executive of Dalan Animal Health, the company behind the drug, said. “We are ready to change how we care for insects, impacting food production on a global scale.”
American Foulbrood (AFB) is a serious bacterial disease of honey bees, caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae, which infects the gut of young bees (larvae) and eventually kills them. AFB is one of the most destructive and widespread diseases of honey bees and can easily spread from one hive to another. The disease is difficult to control and can be transmitted through contaminated beekeeping equipment, so it is important for beekeepers to practice good hygiene and to regularly inspect their hives for signs of the disease. Treatment for AFB involves the use of antibiotics, but infected hives must be destroyed to prevent the spread of the disease.
The groundbreaking vaccine contains an inactive version of the bacteria and is fed to the queen by the worker bees. As a result, the vaccine is transmitted to the queen’s ovaries, giving larvae immunity to foulbrood when they hatch. The treatment, which is non-GMO, has been approved for use by the US Department of Agriculture and will initially be available to commercial beekeepers.
Source: cbsnews.com
