The first vaccine for honey bees has been approved for use in Canada.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has conditionally approved an oral vaccine to protect bees from a disease called American rot. This disease can wipe out entire colonies if left untreated.
The manufacturer, U.S.-based Dalan Animal Health, announced the Canadian approval in an Oct. 16 news release.
The Food Inspection Agency said in an email that the vaccine can be used in Canada “under veterinary supervision.”
The American odor is caused by Paenibacillus larval bacteria, which produces spores that are resistant to the environment and persist in the hive for years, said Ernesto Guzman, director of the University of Guelph Honey Bee Research Center.
Although worker bees in the hive can carry spores and spread the disease, Guzman said it is the larval stage of the bee that shows clinical signs of infection.
“When bees ingest enough of these spores, they typically break down and rot in the hive,” added Stephen Parnall, national director of honey bee research at Agriculture, Agri-Food Canada.
“When you do that, the bacteria multiplies and produces billions of more spores. And those spores can actually infect other developing bees,” said Beaver in northern Alberta. said Parnall, who also heads the Lodge Research Farm.
The rotting larvae turn black in color and have a fishy odor.
American stink disease is often treated “very carefully” with antibiotics in North America, Parnall said, but sometimes hives containing tens of thousands of bees have to be burned.
He said having a vaccine is “another tool in our toolbox” to fight the disease.
Protecting bees from disease is “very important” for human food production, Guzman said.
“It is estimated that one-third of the food we consume in Western societies is produced thanks to the pollination services of bees,” he says.
If the vaccine is effective, Parnall added, it could reduce the use of antibiotics and “reduce the chances of antibiotics being introduced into honey and entering the human food chain.”
“Honey is certainly a product that undergoes a lot of testing, including antibiotics, but it’s always good to reduce inputs into the system, whether it’s bees or other livestock production in Canada,” he said. Stated.
This vaccine contains bacteria from dead Paenibacillus larvae and becomes effective when ingested by the queen bee who lays eggs. The immune protection provided by the vaccine is also passed on to developing honey bee larvae.
The vaccine is mixed into a paste of powdered sugar and glucose syrup, which is eaten by the worker bees, whose secretions are fed to the queen.
A research trial funded by Dalan Animal Health showed a 30 to 50 percent reduction in rotten beetle infections in bee larvae whose queens were vaccinated compared to placebo hives.
Guzman and Pernal noted that the trial was conducted in a lab-controlled environment and said the key is to see if the vaccine is as effective in the real world.
“If further trials are conducted at the field level and it ultimately proves effective, it will be a good tool to control that particular disease,” Guzmán said.
“[This]could also pave the way for the development of other vaccines that could be useful for the beekeeping and insect industries,” he said.
Dalan Animal Health said in a news release that the vaccine will be “limited distribution to commercial beekeepers in Canada starting in spring 2024.”
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency approved the vaccine in late September, a company spokesperson said in an email.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2023.
