By Alimat Aliyeva
For the first time, a vaccine has been approved to protect Australian koalas from chlamydia, a deadly disease that has devastated populations of this beloved endangered marsupial species, Azernews reports.
The single-use vaccine is now ready to be administered nationwide—in wildlife hospitals, clinics, and directly in the field.
Chlamydia, a sexually transmitted infection also found in humans, is responsible for up to half of all wild koala deaths. It can cause infertility and blindness, Reuters reports.
“Some koala populations are teetering on the brink of local extinction every day,” said Professor Peter Timms, a microbiologist at the University of the Sunshine Coast, on Wednesday. He added that in some groups in southeastern Queensland and New South Wales, infection rates often reach 50%, and sometimes as high as 70%.
The vaccine, developed by Timms and his team after more than a decade of research, reduces the likelihood of koalas developing chlamydia symptoms during the breeding season and lowers mortality among wild koalas by at least 65%.
The Australian government has allocated $50 million towards koala conservation efforts.
In 2022, koalas were officially listed as an endangered species in Queensland, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory. The National Koala Monitoring Program estimates that between 95,000 and 238,000 koalas remain in these regions.
It is estimated that an additional 129,000 to 286,000 koalas live in Victoria and South Australia.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, koala populations have halved over the past two decades due to infectious diseases, habitat loss, climate change, and wildfires.
Koalas have unique fingerprints that are so similar to humans’ that even experts sometimes struggle to tell them apart!
