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Chlamydia could make koalas extinct. 2024

Chlamydia could make koalas extinct. Can a vaccine save them in time?

Tiffanie Turnbull/BBC A drowsy koala wrapped in a towel and held by a vet

Joe Mangy is one of thousands of koalas treated for chlamydia each year

On the table, unconscious and stretched out on a pillow, Joe Mangy looks deceptively peaceful. The koala's watery, red-rimmed eyes are the only sign of the disease at war with his body.

Tubes snarl out of a mask covering his face as a vet tech listens to his chest with a stethoscope. He is not healing as well as they had hoped.