Jabs to stop koala STIS wiping out population

AUSTRALIAN scientists are battling to ensure the survival of koalas by vaccinating them against chlamydia.

In some parts of Australia, more than half of the koala population is infected with the sexually transmitted disease, which can result in infertility and blindness.

Trials of the vaccine began yesterday on around 400 of the animals at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital in Queensland. Koalas are already threatened by the loss of their habitat to bush fires, logging, and other land clearing, and scientists worry that the damage caused by chlamydia to their reproductive health could wipe them out. The vaccine has been developed over the course of a decade by researchers at Australia’s University of the Sunshine Coast.

Peter Timms, a professor at the institution, described it as “completely safe” and said it would reduce infection levels.