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First Honeybee Vaccine Approved

First Honeybee Vaccine Approved

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According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) more than 100 U.S. crops depend on pollination by honeybees and other insects. Safeguarding commercial honeybee colonies is critical to food production as there has been an alarming population decline in wild species due to habitat loss, pesticide use and the climate crisis. 


Recently, the USDA granted a two-year, conditional license for a vaccine that protects honeybees from American foulbrood disease (AFB), a widespread, destructive ailment. The non-GMO inoculation will initially be available to commercial beekeepers and can be used in organic agriculture. 


Prior to this booster, the only treatment method for AFB required beekeepers to burn the infected hives and equipment. According to vaccine manufacturer Dalan Animal Health, their vaccination is incorporated into the royal jelly, which worker bees feed to the queen. Once ingested, fragments of the treatment are deposited in the queen’s ovaries, providing developing larvae AFB immunity as they hatch.

In-Print National Content Global Brief Global and Health Briefs March 2023
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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