A locally made honeybee vaccine may be the answer to protecting the world’s food supply.
Dalan Animal Health, an insect biotech company based in Athens, GA, released a vaccine to treat American Foulbrood disease in January. The bacterial disease infects bee larvae, killing whole broods within a few days. According to Dalan, before the vaccine, all infected hives and equipment were incinerated to prevent disease spreading, which greatly reduced honeybee populations and production.
Approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the vaccine is mixed into queen feed consumed by worker bees. After ingesting the feed, the worker bees bring the vaccine to the queen bee, who deposits it into her ovaries. Her offspring are born with immunity to the disease.
Dalan is in the process of increasing the vaccine’s ability throughout the U.S.
