Sydney, Sep 10 || Australia has approved the world's first vaccine to protect endangered koalas from chlamydia, a disease that has devastated wild populations of the iconic marsupial.
Developed over more than 10 years by Australia's University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC), the vaccine's approval by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority marks a major step to protect endangered koalas from chlamydia infection and death, according to a UniSC statement released on Wednesday.
The disease, spread through breeding, can cause painful urinary tract infections, infertility, blindness and even death, with infection rates reaching as high as 70 per cent in some cases, the statement said.
A UniSC-led study found the vaccine reduced the likelihood of koalas developing symptoms of chlamydia during breeding age and decreased mortality from the disease in wild populations by at least 65 per cent.