400 Australian koalas will get a vaccination against chlamydia. It is part of a trial. Experts hope it will have a key impact on the creatures’ long-term survival. Chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease, affects humans, has spread rapidly among Australian koalas. It is infecting up to half of the animals in some locations.
It is a cruel disease-causing debilitating conjunctivitis, bladder infections and at times, infertility,” Amber Gillett, Australian Zoo Wildlife Hospital Wildlife veterinarian and coordinator of research, informed on Friday at the start of the trial. The bacterial disease can spread from mothers to their newborns. It can also cause blindness, researchers say.
Each koala will receive one dosage of the vaccination. They set microchips. After the dosage, they will be released in forest. “While this vaccination will directly benefit each of the animals, the trial will also have a focus on the protection provided by vaccination,” says Peter Timms, professor of microbiology at the University of the Sunshine Coast. He is leading the trial.
People or animals suffering from chlamydia can recover with antibiotics. Researchers hope vaccines will help increase and improve survival and reproduction chances in animals. Populations of koalas vary because they are difficult to count in the wild. A 2016 study in the University of Queensland, found there are 330,000 koalas in Australia.
A research by the World Wildlife Fund states more than 60,000 koalas are dead. Australia’s disastrous bushfires in 2019 and early 2020 have done great harm to them.