May 10 2021 Animal protectors in Australia have begun vaccinating the country’s koalas to help prevent chlamyjam infection.
Chlamythetic infection can lead to sexually transmitted diseases, infertility, conjunctivitis and respiratory diseases in koala populations, and chlamythemosaur infections that spread among koala populations are a major threat to their survival.
The vaccine was developed by a project led by Peter Timms, a microbiologist at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia.
Timms told reporters recently that the program plans to vaccinate 500 koalas at several wildlife hospitals in south-east Queensland and send them back into the wild after completing their vaccinations.
Koala conservation staff track their survival in the wild to assess the effectiveness of the vaccine. They have so far vaccinated more than 250 koalas at a wildlife hospital and no adverse reactions have been reported.
The Queensland government has provided A$98,000 ($77,000) in funding for vaccine production, vaccination and subsequent follow-up studies of koalas.
