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Helsinki – Bees pollinate 90% of the world's most important plants. It is therefore a precious insect essential to human nutrition.
But figures have declined in recent years with regard to the phenomenon of "collapse of bee colonies", which scientists do not know for an accurate explanation so far.
Some experts say that the cause is a parasite, while others speak of pesticides and others of viruses or fungi, or the need to answer all these reasons.
In total, the United Nations says that 40% of butterflies and bees are threatened with extinction.
Scientists warn that the decline in the number of bees is not marginal in human life, but has serious implications for global food security.
Faced with this concern for bees, a team of scientists from the University of Helsinki has developed a vaccine that can make bees resistant to dangerous and deadly bacterial diseases.
"If we can save a very small number of bees with this vaccine, I think we will do our part to protect the world," said Dalial Fritak, researcher in the project. "Even if the increase in the number of bees is only 2 or 3%, it would be great," she said.
Scientists had previously estimated that insects could not be vaccinated because they did not have the so-called antibodies responsible for disease resistance.
But in 2014, researchers specializing in the study of insects and immunity discovered that butterflies fed certain bacteria improved immunity.
Fritak worked with researcher Healy Salmila and discovered a vaccine against bacteria responsible for the most common diseases and the destruction of bees. This vaccine was administered to the queen by sugar granules, just as children receive the vaccine against paralysis. The queen then transferred immunity to each colony.
In addition to working on vaccines for other types of diseases, researchers are seeking funding for the vaccine.
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