United States authorities have just approved a license for a vaccine for beeswhich will help those little insects to face a serious epidemic that has ended with an important number of colonies throughout the country.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has just approved a conditional license for a vaccine created by Dalan Animal Healthan American biotech company, to help protect honey bees of the disease known as american foulbrood.
Thus, the biotechnological firm obtained a permit to distribute the vaccine commercially to beekeepers so that they can stop the disease, before it even matures in the colony. With this, it is hoped that honey bees will begin to thrive again and pollinate the land and farms.
“Our vaccine is a breakthrough in honey bee protectionAnnette Kleiser, CEO of Dalan Animal Health, stated in a statement. “We are prepared to change the way we care for insects, which will have an impact on food production on a global scale.”
The company explains that the vaccine, which contains the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae of whole dead cells, is administered by mixing it with the I feed the queens that the worker bees consume. worker bees incorporate the vaccine into royal jelly and they give it to the queen. She ingests it and the vaccine fragments are deposited in her ovaries. Having been exposed to the vaccine, developing larvae have immunity when they hatch.
Vaccine efficacy studies have indicated that oral vaccination of honey bees can reduce the death of larvae associated with American foulbrood infections caused by P. larvae. The vaccine is not transgenic and can be used in organic farming.
The disease that is killing bees
An epidemic known as american foulbrood it has spread throughout the country and has wiped out significant colonies of honey bees.
american foulbrood originated in the United States and has spread throughout the world. The disease is caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae, which weakens the hive. There is currently no cure for this disease, which in some parts of the US. it has been detected in a quarter of the hivesforcing beekeepers to destroy and burn infected colonies and administer antibiotics to prevent their spread.
According to a Pennsylvania State University article, although it only infects larvae, American foulbrood weakens the colony and can lead to its death in as little as three weeks. American foulbrood is most commonly transmitted through spores of the bacterium that can be dormant for 70 years or more in the colonies or equipment used.
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