USDA approves first-ever vaccine for HONEYBEES – making them immune to a deadly bacterium only contained by burning the hive
- The US Department of Agriculture has approved the first honey bee vaccine
- It was developed for the offspring of the honey bee queen and protects them from American foulbrood, a disease caused by spore-forming bacteria
- The vaccine is fed to the queen and fragments are distributed in her ovaries
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the world’s first honey bee vaccine to protect the vulnerable insects from a deadly disease caused by spore-forming bacteria, the Paenibacillus larva.
The disease known as American foulbrood could only be contained by burning down the colony and hive.
The vaccine is developed using killed whole-cell Paenibacillus larvae mixed with feed that is fed to the queen and passed to her offspring, who are then immune to the disease.
The treatment was authorized under a conditional license issued to meet an emergency condition.
And in the case of honey bees, these creatures are a crucial part of agriculture – a third of the world’s food supply depends on pollination.
The US has given the green light to the world’s first honey bee vaccine. The vaccine aims to protect broods from a deadly disease caused by spore-forming bacteria, the Paenibacillus larva
American foulbrood infects honey bee brood, and while not very contagious, bacterial spores can be easily spread between hives and hives through beekeeping practices such as sharing equipment and moving infected comb.
Dalan Animal Health, a biotech company pioneering insect health, developed the vaccine announced last October as safe and effective for honey bees.
Annette Kleiser, CEO of Dalan Animal Health, said in a statement: “This is a big step for sustainable agriculture worldwide.
“Honey bees are such an important link in our food supply chain, but the industry is at a breaking point. It lacked all of the modern animal care and welfare tools available to other farming sectors. We are proud to have opened the door to this new animal health sector.”
Administration of the vaccine begins by mixing it into the queen chow consumed by worker bees, which then incorporates it into the royal jelly fed to the queen.
The queen ingests the jelly and fragments of the vaccine are deposited in her ovaries, where her larvae are disengaged and hatch with immunity to the disease.
Trevor Tauzer, owner of Tauzer Apiaries and board member of the California State Beekeepers Association, said in a statement, “This is an exciting step forward for beekeepers as we rely on an antibiotic treatment that has limited effectiveness and requires significant time and energy apply to our beehives.
“If we can prevent infection in our hives, we can avoid costly treatments and focus our energy on other important elements in keeping our bees healthy.”
Trials of the new vaccine were conducted with honey bee queens at two different sites last year.
The vaccine is developed using killed whole-cell Paenibacillus larvae mixed with feed that is fed to the queen and passed to her offspring, who are then immune to the disease
The insects were inoculated with a placebo or the bacterin, randomized and placed in their hive to begin laying eggs.
“Because hives in the wild cannot be infected due to the deadly and highly contagious nature of the disease, the resulting larvae were inoculated and placebo hives were taken to the laboratory and exposed to highly infectious American foulbrood spores for several days, after which survival was assessed ‘ Dalan shared.
“The researchers observed a significant increase in disease resistance in the offspring of vaccinated queens in this laboratory setup.”
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