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In the United States, to deal with American foulbrood, which is decimating bees, a start-up has decided to create a new vaccine to save pollinators.
Until now, beekeepers had no choice but to burn everything in the face of American foulbrood, a contagious disease that is decimating millions of bee hives.bees in the world. It is caused by a bacterium that resists cold, heat, drought and remains contagious for more than 40 years in the open air. “The veterinary services are very strict and want to avoid any spread (…) so we immediately burn the equipment, the bees“, indicates Daniel Smith, beekeeper in Maryland (United States).
A vaccine eaten by queens
Faced with this, a start-up from Georgia (USA) had the idea of producing the first vaccine for insects. “We can’t fight the climate crisis if we don’t tackle the decline of our pollinators“, says Annette Kleisei, CEO of “Dalan Animal Health”. The vaccine for bees is mixed with a sweet paste that each colony queen eats. “Any eggs she lays will be immune to disease“, explains Dr. Joerg Mayer, professor of zoological medicine at the University of Georgia.
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