Georgia scientists help field-test world's first honeybee vaccine

Researchers from the UGA Bee Lab study hives. Delaplane says that honey bee vaccines would be a game-changer for beekeepers who have had few resources beyond supportive therapies for decades. (Courtesy of UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. )

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Researchers have developed the world’s first vaccine for honeybees – and field tested it here in Georgia.

Earlier this month, the US Department of Agriculture granted a conditional license for the vaccine against American Foulbrood, a devastating bacterial disease. The news is heartening for beekeepers like Marcus Pollard, who keeps about 70 hives on his farm in Fayetteville, south of Atlanta.