A new vaccine might be able to help curb a disease that is starting to wipe out koalas, with experts hoping the injection could protect the species from extinction.
Did you know that one of the biggest killers of koalas is chlamydia? I didn’t. Go figure.
Experts estimate that over half of the New South Wales and Queensland populations are sick with the disease, and researchers have been working for over a decade to create a vaccine.
Dr Michael Pyne from Currumbin Wildlife Hospital said that out of the 500 koalas that were admitted to the hospital located in the Gold Coast last year, 60% had the illness.
“I really do fear if we don’t find a way to manage chlamydia disease there will certainly be a loss of a number of koalas,” he said.
Clinical trials for the vaccine, which were initiated by the University of the Sunshine Coast, started in October of last year.
At the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, 155 koalas have gotten their jab.
Love Health & Wellness?
Get the latest Health & Wellness news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
The hospital is currently monitoring 11 of the koalas they’ve released closely, and so far all have remained chlamydia-free.
The ideal scenario is that the vaccine can be administered to the koala population on a larger scale, being able to protect a wider populace of the species from the disease.
“The hope is that this can be rolled out in a much bigger way,” Dr Pyne said.
“The goal is exactly finding out where that threshold of how many koalas do we need to vaccinate to stabilise things and get the reproductive rates creeping back up.”
In 2020, the koala population was hit hard during the bushfires at the beginning of the year. While the population of koalas has begin to rise again, anything that can be done to prevent more deaths where it can be prevented will help the population as a whole.
