
First koala chlamydia vaccine approved
The disease has been plaguing the endangered marsupials since the 1990s.

The first vaccine to protect endangered koalas from chlamydia has officially been approved in Australia. The vaccine was developed by the University of the Sunshine Coast’s (UniSC) veterinary medicine division in eastern Australia and is another step towards ensuring the survival of the marsupial.
The koala chlamydia epidemic
Chlamyida has been spreading in populations of the marsupial since the 1990s. Koalas along the east and southeast Australian coasts have been particularly affected, with some populations having infection rates of up to 100 percent. Some estimates put chlamydia death rates at 50 percent. With roughly 50,000 to 80,000 koalas in the wild, there are fears that they could go extinct in some parts of Australia within a generation.
