The regulator has approved the world’s first vaccine to protect koalas from chlamydia infections, which cause infertility and death in the iconic native species, which is listed as endangered in parts of Australia.
The single-dose vaccine was developed on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland after more than a decade of research led by microbiology professor Peter Timm.
The study showed that the vaccine reduced the likelihood of koalas developing chlamydia symptoms at breeding age and reduced mortality from the disease in wild populations by at least 65 percent.
The recent approval by Australia’s veterinary regulator means the vaccine can now be used in wildlife hospitals, veterinary clinics and in the field to protect the country’s most at-risk koalas, Timms said on Wednesday.
“We knew a single-dose vaccine – without the need for a booster – was the answer to rapidly reducing the spread of this devastating disease, which accounts for up to half of all koala deaths in the wild in Australia,” Timms said in a statement.
“Some individual colonies are getting closer to local extinction every day, particularly in southeast Queensland and New South Wales, where infection rates in the population are often around 50 percent and in some cases can be as high as 70 percent,” Timms added.
Microbiologist Samuel Phillips, who worked with Timm on the vaccine, said up to 500 doses were being made to be rolled out by early next year, but more funding was needed to ramp up production.
“We’ve already had calls from wildlife hospitals asking for the vaccine,” he said.
“We estimate they’ll need at least 1,000 to 2,000 doses a year, and that doesn’t include a program to go out and
try and protect koala populations.”
Some Koala Conservationists Skeptical
Deborah Tabart, chair of the Australian Consistency Fund conservation charity, said resources spent on vaccinating Koalas should be redirected to saving Koala Habitat.
“As risky as it sounds, how can someone be so delusional as to think you can vaccinate 100,000 animals? It’s just ridiculous,” Tabart said Friday.
The Tabart Foundation estimates there are fewer than 100,000 koalas in the wild. The government-backed National Koala Monitoring Program estimated last year that there were between 224,000 and 524,000 koalas.
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A conservation group in Australia is planting trees to create corridors that help koalas move safely across the landscape in New South Wales after the marsupial’s populations were devastated by bushfires in 2019 and 2020.
“I agree that chlamydia is a problem for koalas, but I also want people to understand that they are sick because they have no habitat,” Tabart said.
The Queensland Conservation Council, an umbrella organization for more than 50 environmental groups across the state, welcomed the vaccine. But council director Dave Copeman reiterated Tabart’s focus on conserving koala habitat.
“That’s really good news. Chlamydia is one of the main stresses that has put pressure on koala populations,” said Copeman.
“Koalas were at risk before the chlamydia outbreaks, and they will continue to be at risk even if we manage chlamydia perfectly because we continue to destroy their habitat,” he added.
Both the disease and the treatment can be fatal
Koalas are listed as a threatened species in the states of Queensland and New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, with habitat loss due to bushfires and urban sprawl as the main threats. Chlamydia can cause urinary tract infections, infertility, blindness and death.
Antibiotic treatment can disrupt the infected koala’s ability to digest eucalyptus leaves – its only food source – leading to starvation, the university said in a statement.
The research has been supported by the federal, New South Wales and Queensland governments.
Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt said his government had contributed to the development of the vaccine through about $70 million CDN from the Saving Koalas Fund.
“We know that koalas need help to fight diseases like chlamydia. It is a widespread threat that affects their reproductive health and causes infertility,” Watt said in a statement.
Koalas are iconic Australian marsupials, like wombats and kangaroos. They spend most of their time eating and sleeping in eucalyptus trees, and their paws have two opposable thumbs to help them grip and climb tree trunks.
Australia’s wild koala populations have declined rapidly over the past two decades.
Facing threats from disease, habitat loss, climate change and road traffic collisions, koalas could become extinct, according to a 2020 assessment from the New South Wales government.
