Australia's veterinary medicine regulator has approved a vaccine to protect koalas from chlamydia, one of the species' biggest threats, the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) said on Wednesday.
The single-dose vaccine, developed by the university after more than a decade of research, is cleared for nationwide use.
Chlamydia, a primarily sexually transmitted bacterium, can cause painful urinary tract infections, blindness, infertility and death in koalas. Mother-to-joey transmission is also possible.
"We knew a single-dose vaccine – with no need for a booster – 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," said lead researcher Peter Timms.
Sam Phillips, a senior researcher at the UniSC, said the vaccine had been shown in a decade of clinical trials to reduce the likelihood of chlamydia symptoms in breeding-age koalas and cut mortality from the disease by at least 65%.
Chlamydia is a major factor in koalas being listed as endangered in parts of Australia since 2022. Other threats include vehicle collisions, dog attacks, and habitat loss.
Koalas, native to Australia, are now estimated at fewer than 60,000 in the wild, a sharp decline from the millions that roamed the country at the start of the 20th century.
