Kashish Sharma
... Read More
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookie Policy.
Written By: Kashish Sharma | Updated : January 17, 2023 11:23 AM IST
Honeybees unlike all other living creatures are not free from attacks by pathogens and environmental enemies
The US government has granted approval to the world's first vaccine for honeybees. The vaccine has been manufactured by a US biotech company Dalan Animal Health. The vaccine has been primarily developed to protect the honeybee community against the American foulbrood disease. The biotech firm has called the vaccine a "breakthrough" step in protecting honeybees against infectious diseases.
American foulbrood disease is a bacterial condition that results from the infection of honeybee larvae with Paenibacillus larvae. Though it attacks only the larvae, in no time it can weaken the colony and can lead to its death in just three weeks. Larvae killed by this disease have a "foul" smell after which the disease has been named.
Honeybees are social insects and play an unmissable role in agriculture. They are important pollinators. Their need for diverse floral products gives them an important role in pollination. While they are drawn to flowers for nectar, they inadvertently transfer pollens from one flower source to another.
Honeybees unlike all other living creatures are not free from attacks by pathogens and environmental enemies. As per reports, there are many factors that threaten their health such as pests, parasites, diseases and conditions like Colony Collapse Disorder in which the worker bees might abandon the hive and the queen bee.
As per the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, bees like birds play a huge role in world crop production.
American foulbrood disease has no cure yet and is highly contagious. The disease is mainly transmitted through spores of bacteria. When the larvae are fed food that is contaminated with spores, the spores enter into their vegetative state that replicates in the larval tissue, eventually killing it. As per reports, the only treatment available against the disease is to burn the colony of infected bees along with the hive and treating the rest with antibiotics.
As per reports, the vaccine will be put into the royal jelly served to the queen bee. When the queen bee will ingest the vaccine and some of it might remain in her ovaries. The larvae born after that might develop this new immunity when exposed to the vaccine.
