USDA has granted conditional approval for an insect vaccine intended to protect honey bees from American Foulbrood, an aggressive bacterial disease that affects honey bee colonies across North America. It is the first vaccine approved for any insect in the U.S.

The research could potentially help honey bees and the farms that rely on them for pollination.

Dalan Animal Health Inc., a Georgia-based biotechnology company focused on insect health, developed the vaccine. USDA granted the vaccine license to Diamond Animal Health, a manufacturer that is collaborating with Dalan.

Beekeepers say the vaccine approval is a major breakthrough. The American Foulbrood disease is caused by a spore-forming bacterium called Paenibacillus larvae and can spread quickly from hive to hive. According to entomologists, beekeepers have had no way to prevent the disease. Antibiotic treatments have had minimal effectiveness, and beekeepers have often been forced to incinerate infected hives, equipment and bees to prevent further spread.

Trevor Tauzer, owner of Tauzer Apiaries and board member of the California State Beekeepers Association, said USDA’s conditional approval of the vaccine is “an exciting step forward for beekeepers.”

“If we can prevent an infection in our hives, we can avoid costly treatments and focus our energy on other important elements of keeping our bees healthy,” said Tauzer.

Another beekeeper, Chris Gates of Flying Bee Inc., said in a statement that he sees Dalan’s work as positive for his industry.

“What this team is accomplishing will be the long-term future of beekeeping,” he said. “It’s the change and the direction that the industry has badly needed for some time and has patiently waited for.”

The vaccine is composed of inactive – in other words, dead – Paenibacillus larvae bacteria. When exposed to inactive bacteria, bees are able to build up resistance to the infection.

Micro-jabbing honey bees with tiny syringes will not be required to deliver the vaccine. Instead, beekeepers will administer the drug by mixing it into the bees’ feed.

The beekeeper will add the drug to the royal jelly, which the worker bees will then feed to the queen. After she ingests it, fragments of the vaccine will be deposited in her ovaries. The larvae she produces will then have some immunity to the disease as they hatch.

A recent placebo-controlled double-blinded trial study demonstrated the vaccine’s effectiveness and helped it win USDA’s approval. The agency’s conditional license will last for two years.

“Our vaccine is a breakthrough for honey bees,” Annette Kleiser, CEO of Dalan Animal Health, said in a statement. “We are ready to change how we care for insects, impacting food production on a global scale.”