PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Spring 2020 - 12

Bee Medicine:

Welcome to Wonderland
By Tracy Farone, BS, DVM

Have you ever felt like you've
stumbled into a rabbit hole that
keeps getting wider and wilder the
more you explore the tunnels and
tangents? Considering the great
breadth and depth of our profession,
I believe most veterinarians can
relate to this feeling. Whether you
are pursuing an elusive diagnosis or a
specialty or buying a practice, you may think, "Wow, I certainly
didn't expect all of this, but here we are, so... let's do this!" Enter
Apis mellifera, the European honey bee, as the latest creature to
fall under our care... Meet my rabbit hole.
To combat antibiotic resistance, a 2017 FDA mandate now
requires beekeepers to obtain veterinary feed directives (VFD) or
prescriptions for antibiotic treatments. This mandate requires a
valid veterinary-client-patient-relationship (VCPR) to be formed
between beekeepers, veterinarians, and bees. This creates
a challenge for veterinarians and beekeepers alike, as many
U.S. vets did not receive bee medicine training in veterinary
school, and beekeepers are accustomed to taking care of things
themselves. Add in all the pressures that bees are facing-
increasing pests and diseases, pesticides, habitat loss and poor
nutrition, migratory beekeeping, not to mention the economic,
social, and political aspects of beekeeping-and you have quite
the quandary.

Three years ago, I took a leap into this intriguing problem and
embarked on a sabbatical adventure, traveling to Europe,
Canada, and several states (including much of PA), shadowing
and working with dozens of beekeepers in various types of
beekeeping operations. I found that most beekeepers and
university entomologists are open, or at least curious, to the
help veterinarians could provide for their bees. I discovered the
beekeeping and entomology literature to be vast, amazingly
interesting, and evolving at "hot topic" pace. I hope that sharing
some of my findings with veterinarians may help to build the
VCPR bridge between beekeepers and veterinarians.
How do we navigate our new charge? First, be aware of
a few facts:
Honey bees are, for the most part, managed, agricultural
animals. They are not native to the U.S. or the Western
Hemisphere. They face an array of challenges, but they are not
going extinct. We have hundreds of native pollinators, many
of which are on the endangered list. This is a conservation
problem. Physically, honey bees are essential to all aspects of
agriculture, both in crop production and animal feed production.
Honey bees are required for the pollination of at least 1/3 of
the crops we eat. Economically, honey bees are considered the
most important agricultural animal, contributing 15-20 billion
dollars to the industry yearly, surpassing cattle, chickens, hogs,
and other agricultural animals. Honey bees are facing more
disease challenges than they have historically. This is primarily
an agricultural problem.
Second, explore veterinary bee medicine continuing education.
There are "only" two major bacterial diseases and three
antibiotics that we are expected to master at this point. There
are also approximately 18 viruses, a couple protozoal and fungal
diseases, and a handful of parasites. One of these parasites
(Varroa destructor) and the viruses it vectors is the single biggest
disease threat to honey bee colonies. I believe veterinarians
should be educated in all aspects of honey bee disease and
health, not just be limited to antibiotic use supervision.
Considering all the diseases veterinarians cover across all
animals-what's 30 or so more?

12 | Keystone
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PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Spring 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Spring 2020
