Frequently Asked Questions
What can veterinarians do for beekeepers?
Bee Well Mobile Veterinary Services, PLLC is committed to providing high quality medical care with a focus on customer service.
Veterinarians are trained in the diagnosis of disease, and in the sciences of animal health care, disease prevention and health promotion. Although in the United States, veterinarians are new partners in the apiary, in many developed countries, veterinarians have been active partners in apiculture science and medicine for many years.
When do beekeepers need veterinarians?
Some of the antibiotics that beekeepers use to treat bacterial honey bee diseases are included in the Food and Drug Administration’s new Veterinary Feed Directive Final Rule, see: https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm507355.htm
Beekeepers and apiarists with a need to treat colonies for bacterial diseases such as American foulbrood (AFB) and European foulbrood (EFB) will need to establish a veterinary-client-patient relationship with a veterinarian to get a prescription or a veterinary feed directive for those few types of antibiotics that are also used in human medicine (‘medically important’ antibiotics) and are therefore included in the new rule.
Which drugs are included in the new rule?
The antibiotics oxytetracycline hydrochloride (Terramycin), tylan (Tylosin), and lincomycin (Lincomix) are classified as ‘medically important’, and are included in the new rule.
I used to be able to buy these antibiotics directly from distributors, why are veterinarians now required?
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a growing and serious problem for both human and animal health.
The Food and Drug Administration’s Veterinary Feed Directive Final Rule was effective starting January 1, 2017. The rule requires that all ‘medically important’ antibiotics that are also used in food animal production, require a licensed veterinarian to either prescribe them or issue a veterinary feed directive.
What is a veterinary-client-patient relationship (VCPR)?
Veterinarians cannot just provide service to beekeepers by telephone or e-mail. The rule requires that a valid ‘veterinary-client-patient relationship’ exist. The rule states: “That the veterinarian engage with the client (i.e., the animal producer) to assume responsibility for making clinical judgments about patient (i.e., animal) health, have sufficient knowledge of the patient by virtue of patient examination and/or visits to the facility where the patient is managed, and provide for any necessary follow-up evaluation or care. … All veterinarians will need to adhere to a VCPR that includes the key elements in the final rule”. *
* Veterinary Feed Directive Final Rule – Fact sheet http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/DevelopmentApprovalProcess/ucm449019.htm
Why are honey bees included in this rule for ‘food animals’.
As honey bees can produce honey used for human consumption they are considered ‘food animals’ under the Veterinary Feed Directive Final Rule.