The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is committed to keeping honeybees healthy. With the addition of bees, the college’s residency program has expanded the breadth of its animal training, which is among the nation’s leaders. Guided by Dr. Joerg Mayer, students in the bee vet program have the chance to gain clinical training in caring for the pollinators.
Along with the residency program, Mayer has teamed up with Keith Delaplane, professor of entomology and director of the UGA Honey Bee Program in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science (CAES), to form a Vet Bee Club. The club gives students in the College of Veterinary Medicine the opportunity to learn about and engage in apiary medicine through hands-on experience inspecting hives and diagnosing disease like American Foulbrood, a deadly bacterial disease that has forced beekeepers to destroy, burn and bury infected colonies.
This disease has brought life to an industry partnership with UGA’s own hive for innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization. Dalan Animal Health recently relocated to UGA’s Innovation District to partner with both CVM and CAES to test its landmark honeybee vaccine.
