Environment: a vaccine from the United States to save bees

Until now, beekeepers had no choice but to burn everything down in the face of American foulbrood, a contagious disease that is decimating millions of beehives around 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”says Daniel Smith, a 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 bee vaccine is mixed into a sweet paste that each colony queen eats. “All the eggs she will lay will be immune to disease”explains Dr. Joerg Mayer, professor of zoological medicine at the University of Georgia.