US approves world’s first vaccine for honeybees

Development hailed as ‘exciting step forward’ in effort to halt decline in bee numbers

A bee
The vaccine is designed to prevent fatalities from American foulbrood disease
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The US government has approved the world’s first vaccine for honeybees.

The vaccine is designed to prevent fatalities from American foulbrood disease, caused by the Paenibacillus larvae bacterium, which can weaken and even destroy hives. It is hoped that it could serve as a “breakthrough in protecting honey bees”, said its manufacturer, Dalan Animal Health.

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  Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.