Chlamydia killing koalas in Australia, recovery plan to be reviewed

Chlamydia is causing a threat to Australia’s koala’s population as the government is planning to introduce a National Recovery Plan which will be reviewed in December 2021 before potentially becoming law in 2022.

The fast-spreading disease has gained momentum in the island country in the last decade. According to Mark Kronkenberger, a professor at the University of Sydney, said there was a “very very low chlamydial prevalence” in a rural town of South Wales.

Also read: ‘A fish or snake next year?’: Bat named Bird of the Year in New Zealand

Seven years later, in 2015, the figure jumped to nearly 60%. According to reports from CNN citing Krockenberger’s statements, about 85% of the Koala population is infected with the disease.

“If you think about it, that’s not a viable population anymore because of infertility. Pretty much every female that’s infected with chlamydia becomes infertile within a year, maybe two years maximum … Even if they survive, they’re not breeding” he said in a statement.

Chlamydia — a sexually transmitted disease that has impacted humans too — can cause severe symptoms in koalas. These symptoms, which can result it infertitily and death, include painful cysts and blindness.

Also read: Climate change, farming cause Turkey’s lake Tuz to dry up

The treatment of the disease can be as impactful as the problem itself. The antibiotics used to treat Chlamydia can influence the staple diet of koalas, who consume eucalyptus leaves.

Also read: Explainer: How wildfires impact wildlife, their habitat

Koalas — majorly found in Australia only– have been classified as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and have also been included in the “Red List”, suggesting the species are at a risk of extinction.

The IUCN says there are between 100,000 and half a million koalas in the wild, but the Australian Koala Foundation says the number is closer to 58,000, according to reports from CNN.