Australia has finally approved the world’s first-ever chlamydia vaccine for koalas after 10-plus years of research.
According to CNN, the single-dose jab was developed at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, where a team of experts — led by microbology professor Peter Timms — conducted a decade’s worth of trials and testing on hundreds of koalas.
While brushfires and climate change are some of the leading threats to the koala population, chlamydia is responsible for roughly half the deaths of Australia’s wild population. Researchers are confident that the newly approved vaccine could decrease "mortality from the disease in wild populations by at least 65 percent."
The first-of-its-kind vaccine purportedly offers three levels of protection: It has proven to reduce infection rates, prevent the disease’s progression, and "in some cases" reverse existing symptoms.
Up until recently, the only treatments for koala chlamydia infections were antibiotics; however, the medication was found to disturb the mammals' digestive systems, causing some of the koalas to starve to death.
"Until now, antibiotics were the only treatment available for koalas infected with chlamydia, but they can disrupt a koala’s ability to digest eucalyptus leaves – its sole source of food – leading to starvation and, in some cases, death," Timms said in a statement.
"Many vaccines require a booster, but we’ve purposely developed a vaccine that only requires one shot, and for a wild animal like koalas, that is what you really need. Some individual colonies are edging closer to local extinction every day, particularly in South East Queensland and New South Wales, where infection rates within populations are often around 50 percent and in some cases can reach as high as 70 percent."
Now that the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority has green-lit the vaccine, wildlife advocates are seeking to lock down funding for widespread distribution in veterinary clinics and in the field. According to The Guardian, the first batch of vaccines will roll out in early 2026 and consist of about 500 doses.