Scientists Vaccinating Koalas against Deadly Disease
2023-05-14
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1Scientists have started vaccinating wild koalas against chlamydia in New South Wales, Australia.
2The disease causes blindness, infertility and death.
3Samuel Phillips is a microbiologist at the University of the Sunshine Coast. He helped develop the vaccine.
4He said the disease is "killing koalas because they become so sick they can't climb trees to get food, or escape predators, and females can become infertile." An infertile koala cannot reproduce.
5The scientists' first goal is to catch, vaccinate and carefully follow around half of the koala population in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales.
6That means vaccinating around 50 animals.
7Researchers have already tested the vaccine on koalas in wildlife rescue centers.
8Those tests confirmed that the vaccine works and is safe to use.
9To reduce infections and disease, scientists want to learn what percentage of the wild population needs vaccinating.
10Scientists caught and vaccinated the first koalas in March.
11The effort is expected to last about three months.
12Koalas in other parts of Australia are also infected with chlamydia.
13In Queensland, scientists estimate about half of the animals already have the disease.
14To give the vaccine, the scientists put circular fences around the bottom of the trees in which the koalas feed.
15After a few hours or days, the koalas climb down from one tree to look for tasty leaves on another.
16Then they will wander into traps placed on the ground. The traps do not hurt the animals.
17Next, the scientists check the animals, give them medicine to prevent pain from vaccination, and give the vaccine.
18They watch the animals closely for 24 hours to check for problems.
19They also put a pink spot on the backs of the animals.
20This lets the scientists know which animals have already been vaccinated.
21Most of the time, koalas eat and sleep in eucalyptus trees.
22Their population has greatly decreased during the past 20 years.
23Last February, Australia's government put koalas in the eastern regions of New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory on a list of endangered species.
24Disease, loss of areas to live, and road crashes are all making it more difficult for koalas to survive.
25A 2020 study from the New South Wales government found that koalas could become extinct by the year 2050.
26Scientists think koalas may have gotten chlamydia from contact with feces from infected sheep or cattle.
27Doctors use antibiotics to treat the disease in humans. But koalas have a special enzyme in their stomachs that prevents the antibiotics from working.
28Mathew Crowther is a conservation biologist at the University of Sydney. He has been observing koalas in New South Wales for over 10 years.
29In 2008, 10 percent of animals tested there were infected with chlamydia. Today that rate is 80 percent.
30He said it is rare to see any baby koalas in the area.
31Around the world, there have been very few other projects to give vaccines to wild animals.
32"Vaccination for wildlife is certainly not routine yet," said Jacob Negrey, a biologist at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
33He added that biologists are trying to learn if vaccination of wild animals should increase.
34I'm Andrew Smith.
1Scientists have started vaccinating wild koalas against chlamydia in New South Wales, Australia. The disease causes blindness, infertility and death. 2Samuel Phillips is a microbiologist at the University of the Sunshine Coast. He helped develop the vaccine. He said the disease is "killing koalas because they become so sick they can't climb trees to get food, or escape predators, and females can become infertile." An infertile koala cannot reproduce. 3The scientists' first goal is to catch, vaccinate and carefully follow around half of the koala population in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales. That means vaccinating around 50 animals. 4Researchers have already tested the vaccine on koalas in wildlife rescue centers. Those tests confirmed that the vaccine works and is safe to use. 5To reduce infections and disease, scientists want to learn what percentage of the wild population needs vaccinating. 6Scientists caught and vaccinated the first koalas in March. The effort is expected to last about three months. 7Koalas in other parts of Australia are also infected with chlamydia. In Queensland, scientists estimate about half of the animals already have the disease. 8To give the vaccine, the scientists put circular fences around the bottom of the trees in which the koalas feed. After a few hours or days, the koalas climb down from one tree to look for tasty leaves on another. Then they will wander into traps placed on the ground. The traps do not hurt the animals. 9Next, the scientists check the animals, give them medicine to prevent pain from vaccination, and give the vaccine. They watch the animals closely for 24 hours to check for problems. They also put a pink spot on the backs of the animals. This lets the scientists know which animals have already been vaccinated. 10Most of the time, koalas eat and sleep in eucalyptus trees. Their population has greatly decreased during the past 20 years. Last February, Australia's government put koalas in the eastern regions of New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory on a list of endangered species. 11Disease, loss of areas to live, and road crashes are all making it more difficult for koalas to survive. A 2020 study from the New South Wales government found that koalas could become extinct by the year 2050. 12Scientists think koalas may have gotten chlamydia from contact with feces from infected sheep or cattle. Doctors use antibiotics to treat the disease in humans. But koalas have a special enzyme in their stomachs that prevents the antibiotics from working. 13Mathew Crowther is a conservation biologist at the University of Sydney. He has been observing koalas in New South Wales for over 10 years. In 2008, 10 percent of animals tested there were infected with chlamydia. Today that rate is 80 percent. 14He said it is rare to see any baby koalas in the area. 15Around the world, there have been very few other projects to give vaccines to wild animals. 16"Vaccination for wildlife is certainly not routine yet," said Jacob Negrey, a biologist at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He added that biologists are trying to learn if vaccination of wild animals should increase. 17I'm Andrew Smith. 18Christina Larson wrote this story for The Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English. 19__________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21predator -n. an animal that hunts and eats other animals 22wander -v. to move from one place to another without a particular direction or destination 23region -n. a geographical area 24species -n. a set of plants or animals whose members have the same main characteristics and are able to breed with each other 25extinct -adj. describing a species that no longer exists 26feces -n. solid waste expelled from the bodies of animals; excrement 27conservation -n. the act of preserving animals and natural areas from overuse or destruction 28routine -adj. done in a habitual manner 29__________________________________________________________________ 30We want to hear from you. 31We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 32Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.