World-first vaccine to protect koalas from chlamydia approved in Australia

Australia has approved the rollout of the world’s first vaccine to protect koalas against chlamydia, a disease responsible for nearly half of deaths among the marsupials.

A groundbreaking vaccine to combat chlamydia in Australia’s koala population has been approved for rollout, researchers announced Wednesday.

Developed over more than a decade by the University of the Sunshine Coast, the single-dose vaccine is designed to protect the animals from urinary tract infections, blindness, infertility and even death caused by the disease.

Chlamydia poses one of the greatest threats to koalas, killing about half of wild populations along Australia’s east coast. Infection rates in some colonies reach 70 percent, leaving entire groups on the brink of local extinction, according to UniSC microbiologist Professor Peter Timms.

Koalas, often seen as symbols of Australian wildlife, are listed as endangered in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Beyond disease, they face habitat destruction, road accidents, dog attacks and devastating bushfires, with hundreds killed in recent years.

Until now, antibiotics were the only treatment available, but these drugs often interfere with koalas’ digestion of eucalyptus leaves, sometimes leading to starvation.

Conservation groups have welcomed the vaccine as a lifeline for the species, which was declared critically endangered in 2022 by WWF Australia.

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