The first vaccine for honeybees has been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a move that could help control a range of viruses and pests that are decimating the global population. The vaccine is the first of its kind in the US.
A vaccine that protects honeybees from American foulbrood was developed by Dalan Animal Health. All of the equipment and colonies were burned or antibiotics were used. Diamond Animal Health is working with Dalan.
The vaccine could change the way scientists approach animal health according to Dalail Freitak, the chief science officer for Dalan.
She said that bees don't have a good health care system compared to other animals. We have the ability to improve their resistance against diseases.
The vaccine, which contains dead versions of the Paenibacillus, comes in the form of food, so you can't imagine it being injected into a bee. Queen bees get a sugar feed from the vaccine. As they hatch, the vaccine is deposited in their ovaries and gives them immunity.
In the past, scientists assumed that insects couldn't get immunity because they didn't have the right immune system. The question of how insects acquire immunity and pass it on to their offspring was answered by Dr. Freiak. She and two other researchers discovered in 2015 that they could cultivate immunity in a bee population with a single queen.
American foulbrood is a disease that causes the hive to give off a rotting smell. During the 1800s and early 1900s, bee colonies in the United States were ravaged by the disease. American foulbrood is less destructive than varroa mite, but it can wipe out 60,000 bees.
The introduction of a vaccine comes at a critical time for honeybees, which are vital to the world's food system but are also declining because of climate change, pesticides, habitat loss and disease
The director of the honeybee program at the University of Georgia said there is no silver bullet but there is a toxic stew of cause and effect. "It's death by a thousand cuts."
honeybees pollinate about one-third of the food crops in the United States and help produce an estimated fifteen billion dollars of crops in the United States each year. Almonds, pear, cherries, apples and other produce can be pollinated with the help of honeybees.
Three-quarters of flowering plants need the help of bees and butterflies to produce fruit and seeds.
The president of the American Honey Producers Association, Chris Hiatt, was involved in a vaccine trial with 800 queen bees in North Dakota.
Beekeepers don't want to be reliant on antibiotics, which most give once a year or when there are flare ups Some of the beneficialMicrobes can be wiped out by antibiotics. This could add other things as well.
Annette Kleiser is the CEO of Dalan.
Ms Kleiser said that bees should have the same modern tools as chickens, cats, dogs and so on.
If a company shows there is a high unmet need in the market, they can accelerate approval for their vaccine.
Ms. Kleiser said that the U.S.D.A. recommended that the company move quickly to get this out onto the market.
Ms. Kleiser said that the company needed to show proof of safety, purity and certain degrees of efficacy in order to be approved. Dalan wants to use the American foulbrood vaccine as a map to make vaccines for other diseases that affect honeybees.
There wasn't a regulatory path when we began. domesticated animals and pets have vaccine protocols compared to wild animals who fly around. She said that they hope to change the industry now.
The University of Georgia's entomologist agreed.
He said that a cocktail that solved a lot of bee problems would be the Holy Grail.
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