A vaccine for bees? ‘It’s looking promising’: Essex County beekeeper
The world’s first vaccine against American foulbrood has been approved for use by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Dalan Animal Health, a biotech company based in Athens, Georgia has received a two-year, conditional licence to distribute the vaccine to commercial beekeepers.
“This vaccine sounds like it could be really beneficial to the industry,” says Tom Congdon, third generation owner and operator of Sun Parlour Honey, based in Cottam, Ont.
“These new treatments that they're coming up with show good promise,” says Congdon. “We need to see the field studies this summer to know just how effective it's going to be but it's looking promising.”
Congdon says American foulbrood has been in North America for decades, as far back as when his grandfather started the business in 1916.
“American foulbrood is very difficult to manage other than destruction of the colony and starting fresh,” says Congdon.
According to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, American foulbrood is caused by a bacteria called paenibacillus larvae and it only attacks developing bee larvae, not adults.
The ministry notes, “this disease is highly contagious, will contaminate beekeeping equipment, bees and honey, and will weaken, and in most cases, kill a honey bee colony.”
Bee colonies at Sun Parlour Honey in Cottam, Ont. on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. (Michelle Maluske/CTV News Windsor)Congdon says the only treatment is an antibiotic which he believes isn’t effective once the bees are infected.
Congdon says beekeepers in Ontario are managing the disease “quite well” because they are continually checking their colonies, looking for any signs of sickness.
But he notes a more “virulent” form of American foulbrood has been found in Western Canada.
“It's only a matter of time before it migrates to our area. So if we can have a vaccine that's going to give more protection and that in the long run would be safer for the bees,” says Congdon.
According to the Dalan website, the American foulbrood vaccine contains cells from paenibacillus larvae.
It is then put into something called ‘queen candy’ which is a sugary substance with a gum-like consistency.
The worker bees eat it as a food source and pass it onto the queen, who in turn passes the immunity onto the larvae she hatches.
According to Dalan, the vaccine is “non-GMO and can be used in organic agriculture.”
If it is ever approved for use in Canada, Congdon would consider using it at his farm as a preventative measure.
“It'll be something that you use ahead of time,” says Congdon. “If you have a colony that's infected with American foulbrood, I think you'll still want to probably destroy (the colony) and start fresh because those spores can spread everywhere so quickly and they can get into all of our equipment.”
CTV News has reached out to Health Canada and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for comment.
This is a developing story, more details to come.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
'Tactical evacuations' underway near Fort Nelson, B.C., as wildfires encroach
The BC Wildfire Service says 'tactical evacuations' began Friday near Fort Nelson, B.C., due to an out-of-control wildfire that has grown rapidly since it was discovered earlier in the afternoon.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.