Alberta beekeepers welcome new vaccine for destructive disease

A new honey bee vaccine that's recently been approvedfor use in Canada is being welcomed by the industry and could start being used here in the new year.

American foulbrood(AFB) is a bacterial brood disease that can wipe out entire colonies of bees and devastate producers, both big and small.

The vaccine, which is transferred to larval bees via a queen,reduces the need for antibiotics to treat the disease and avoids having to torch infected hives and bees.

Robert McBain, who ownsWorker andHive Bee Supply in Calgary, says Alberta has generally low levels of the disease, but producers say they're seeing resistance to antibiotics, so a vaccine is timely.

Foulbrood spores can remain in equipment, wax and old frames for several decades and can mean financial ruin for commercial operations.

"The best option when you have AFBin your colonies is to destroy them. So for small scale beekeepers, it's devastating on a personal level, and for large scale beekeepers supporting families and businesses, it can have a very large financial impact," said McBain.

McBain says the vaccine is fed in a syrup to queen bees.

"It seems to be very effective, and it's nice to have that option," he said. "But it will take time to catch on."

McBain says that with average commercial beekeepers running 3,000 colonies and buying 2,000 to 3,000 queen bees per year, there will be a financial impact. But he thinks most producers will choose to go with vaccinated queens given the destructive nature and potential costs of the disease in the long run.

One Alberta producer who knows about that impact is Reece Chandler. He's owned Scandia Honey in Scandia, Alta., since the 1990s. He now operates around 16,000 beehives.

"Without you helping the hive, it's a 100 per centchance it's going to die, it's not going to make it. Thenthe next bees you put in there, that hive will be dead in a year as well. It just goes on forever," said Chandler.

"I have guys who work for me that can smell it walking beside hives. They're so good at it now.They're like bloodhounds," said Chandler.

Chandler says the only way to deal with American foulbrood is to burn the whole hive, including the bees inside.

At his operation, he isolates any suspected hot spots and deals with hives on an individual basis.

He says he'd welcome the vaccine, which is preferable to having bees take antibiotics, compromisingthe perception of the end product among consumers.

"It's super exciting. Would we use it? Absolutely. Why wouldn't we? It's a struggle enough trying to keep bees alive in Canada at the best of times. Any advantage you can get, boy, you want to jump on that," said Chandler.

He says this vaccine might lead to breakthroughs in treating other problem diseases, including European foulbrood, which is becoming more prevalent in Canada.

The American foulbrood vaccine is expected to be distributed to commercial operations in Canada starting early in 2024.