A new single-dose vaccine that could transform koala conservation has been approved by Australia\u2019s veterinary medicines regulator.<\/p>\n
The vaccine reduces the risk of symptoms \u2013 and death \u2013 caused by chlamydia in wild koalas<\/a> by at least 65 per cent, according to University of the Sunshine Coast<\/a> (UniSC) scientists, who developed the jab.<\/p>\n Some estimates suggest there are only 50,000 koalas left in the wild. Credit: UniSC Australia or University of the Sunshine Coast<\/p>\n The strain of chlamydia that affects koalas is different from the human form, and can be deadly for the Australian mammals. It causes urinary tract infections, blindness and infertility, and in severe cases leads to death.<\/p>\n Until now, the only treatment available has been antibiotics. But these can be fatal, as they destroy the gut bacteria koalas rely on to digest eucalyptus leaves \u2013 their sole food source \u2013 meaning treated animals often starve.<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew a single-dose vaccine \u2013 with no need for a booster \u2013 was the answer to reducing the rapid, devastating spread of this disease, which accounts for as much as half of koala deaths across all wild populations in Australia,\u201d says UniSC Professor Peter Timms, who led the research.<\/p>\n \u201cSome colonies are edging closer to local extinction every day, particularly in South East Queensland and New South Wales, where infection rates are often around 50 per cent, and in some cases reach as high as 70 per cent,\u201d adds Timms.<\/p>\n A koala receives health checks and a single-dose vaccine. Credit: UniSC Australia or University of the Sunshine Coast<\/p>\n The vaccine, which has been in development for more than ten years, has been trialled successfully on over 500 wild and captive koalas across multiple generations. <\/p>\n “This study found [the vaccine] reduced the likelihood of koalas developing symptoms of chlamydia during breeding age and decreased mortality from the disease in wild populations by at least 65%,” says UniSC researcher Sam Phillips.<\/p>\n These trials included animals cared for at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, set up by the conservationists Steve and Terri Irwin.\u00a0\u201cThis partnership has enabled us to combine scientific research with compassionate care by helping sick and injured koalas, while also raising awareness of the broader threats they face in the wild, including habitat loss,\u201d says Terri Irwin. \u201cTogether, we are turning the tide for koalas.\u201d<\/p>\n Now that the vaccine has been approved, conservationists are calling for a nationwide rollout. The next goal is to vaccinate 1,000 koalas in 2026.<\/p>\n Researchers say the vaccine “reduced the likelihood of koalas developing symptoms of chlamydia during breeding age and decreased mortality from the disease in wild populations by at least 65%”. Credit: UniSC Australia or University of the Sunshine Coast<\/p>\n More wildlife stories from around the world<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new single-dose vaccine that could transform koala conservation has been approved by Australia\u2019s veterinary medicines regulator. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143802,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[90,56,54,55,4407],"class_list":{"0":"post-143801","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-uk","10":"tag-united-kingdom","11":"tag-unitedkingdom","12":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}