The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the world's first vaccine for honey bees, reports the BBC.
Developed in Finland, the vaccine works against a bacterial condition known as American foulbrood disease that attacks bee larvae.
The vaccine introduces inactive bacteria into the royal jelly fed to the queen, resulting in her larvae gaining immunity.
The vaccine was developed by researchers Dalial Freitak and Heli Salmela working at Helsinki University's Viikki campus.
Bee colonies, critical to the ecosystem, have been in decline in the United States since 2006, the BBC reports, citing the USDA.
Business daily Kauppalehti first reported on the development of the bee vaccine in 2020.
