The US Dept of Agriculture has approved a vaccine for honeybees to prevent further devastation to the insects, who are key to the global food supply. The vaccine, developed by Georgia-based biotech Dalan Animal Health, is targeting American Foulbrood, a widespread deadly disease in Australia, US and globally, caused by Paenibacillus larvae bacteria.
To administer the novel vaccine, beekeepers can mix it into the feed the worker bees consume and then feed to the queen.
This is great news as the company proposes to use the format of this vaccine to target other diseases that honeybees face.