A leading vaccine researcher from the University of Queensland (UQ) has discovered that the chlamydia epidemic endangering koala populations in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland (QLD) is linked to a common retrovirus that is believed to suppress the marsupials’ immune systems.
Associate Professor Keith Chappell and Dr Michaela Blyton, from UQ’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, made the discovery through their study of more than 150 koalas admitted to Currumbin Wildlife Hospital in QLD.
