There's a new vaccine for koalas!
There’s news to help koalas, this time about a koala vaccine.
Koalas already have enough threatening them and their future, as they lose habitat, due to land clearing, natural disasters and the encroachment of development. And as you may know, a big threat to koalas and their populations is chlamydia.
Chlamydia has had a devastating impact on wild koalas across much of eastern Australia. In some wild colonies, the infection rate can be as much as 70%. This puts koalas at risk of extinction in these areas.
Chlamydia is spread by close contact or mating. It is far from pleasant, causing painful urinary trace infections, conjunctivitis, blindness – and infertility in koalas. Although the koalas can be given antibiotics, they destroy the gut bacteria which means they can digest eucalyptus leaves. And that is very bad news for these adorable animals, since these leaves are their primary source of food. That means koalas can starve as a result.
There's a vaccine which could save koalas!
A single-dose vaccine which could save koalas from chlamydia has been approved for rollout. Scientists at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) have spent over 10 years developing a jab to curb the spread of the disease. The team there are now hoping for major funding so that the vaccine can be distributed to wildlife hospitals, vet clinics and koalas in the wild. The vaccine has been tested on hundreds of wild koalas, with a decade’s worth of trials – the lonest and largest ever done on wild koalas.
Things are not all plain sailing. Treating the disease is very expensive. Finding and catching koalas and then vaccinating them is more costly too. Money will need to come from somewhere to make this all happen.
The other problem, of course, is that koalas still face other risks, thanks to human activities such as development and logging, which leads to habitat loss and lack of food supplies. They need the habitat they rely on.
As is often the case, the survival of a species needs a several-pronged approach: here, vaccination, habitat restoration, wildfire prevention and the careful monitoring of koalas will all be crucial. And koalas need us all to work together to help them.
UniSC says that their aim is to deliver the koala vaccines to the most vulnerable koala populations in wildlife hospitals, veterinary clinics, and field operations in Australia. We can all help.
Every $200 raised is one koala vaccinated. Donations will do three things:
Support a national vaccine campaign
Fund critical ongoing monitoring and fieldwork
Support research to ensure the vaccine’s long-term success
Today (15 Sept 2025), $200 Australian dollars is about £98.00, and it’s $133 US dollars, and $184 Canadian dollars. It’s 113 Euros. (This is according to Oanda Currency Converter and please note rates change.)
The beautiful photo at the top was taken by David Clode. Thank you, David!
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