Vaccine against the deadly American Foulbrood disease caused by bacterium Paenibacillus larvae in honey bees got approved by USDA. This is the world’s 1st vaccine (availability expected from this year) and will be supplied to commercial beekeepers in the US (on a limited basis).
Working Pattern of Vaccine
The vaccine comprises the killed whole-cell of Paenibacillus. The vaccine will be mixed with queen feed which is consumed by worker bees and they will be assimilated into royal jelly. This jelly will be fed to the queen by the workers and once she ingests it, the particles of the vaccine will get settled into her ovaries. This will make the developing larvae immune to the foulbrood disease when they hatch.
Foulbrood disease originated in the US, and has become a global disease. It is a contagious disease and does not have any cure to this date. Whenever the hives get infected by this disease beekeepers used to destroy it by burning it and providing antibiotics to nearby colonies to prevent the spread of the disease. But now, this vaccine will prove to be a blessing for all the Beekeepers in the US.
