World’s First Honeybee Vaccine Gets Approved

The USDA granted a conditional license for a vaccine to protect the country’s honeybees from foulbrood disease.  Earth.com said the bacterial infection weakens and kills honeybee colonies and has no treatment.  The vaccine was developed by Dalan Animal Health and brings hope for a weapon against a disease that regularly ravages colonies that are highly important to food pollination.

In parts of the U.S., the foulbrood disease has been found in over a quarter of honeybee hives.  Beekeepers typically destroy and burn infected colonies and administer antibiotics to stop the further spread of the disease.  The vaccine works by incorporating some of the bacteria into the royal jelly fed to the queen by worker bees.  After ingesting the jelly, the queen will gain some of the vaccine in her ovaries and developing bee larvae will have immunity to foulbrood.

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