Wildlife

Bird Flu - Brazil

The detection of the first cases of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus – H5N1 in three wild birds on the coast of Espírito Santo, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock however, maintains that Brazil retains its status as a country free of HPAI.

Chlamydia is killing Australia's koalas

Conservationists in Australia have begun vaccinating wild koalas against a highly contagious and deadly form of chlamydia. In recent decades, the marsupials have been plagued with a destructive strain of chlamydia, which belongs to a closely related species of the sexually-transmitted disease in humans.

In koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), chlamydia causes gastrointestinal problems, urinary tract infections and conjunctivitis that eventually leads to blindness, according to Wildlife Health Australia(opens in new tab). Blind and sick koalas are unable to climb trees to eat or escape predators and can die as a result. The disease can also cause infertility in females due to large cysts growing in their ovaries, which has massively decreased koala birth rates.

In an ongoing trial, researchers are catching and vaccinating wild koalas in New South Wales, AP News reported. The percentage of infected koalas in the state has jumped from an estimated 10% in 2008 to a likely 80% today. As a result, the species was listed as endangered in New South Wales(opens in new tab) in early 2022.