The US approves that world’s first honey bee vaccine

The United States has authorized the use of the world’s first honey bee vaccine.

It was made to stop people from dying from American foulbrood disease, a bacterial disease that attacks bee larvae and is known to weaken bee colonies. This week the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a conditional license for the vaccine, according to the biotechnology company that developed it. As pollinators, bees play a crucial role in a variety of ecological processes.

The vaccine could be a “beak-through in protecting honey bees,” said Annette Kleiser, CEO of Dalan Animal Health, in a statement. It works by putting an inactive form of the bacteria into the royal jelly that the queen eats. This makes the larvae of the queen immune.

Since 2006, the USDA has reported annual declines in honey bee colonies in the United States. According to the USDA, parasite, pests and diseases, as well as a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder, which occurs when worker bees abandon a hive and leave the queen behind, threaten honey bee health.