Development of an anti-Chlamydia vaccine for the koala. The koala is one of Australia's main icons and a major drawcard for tourists. However, it suffers from debilitating disease due to the bacterium Chlamydia, which can lead to severe conjunctivitis, eventual blindness in both sexes, and the females develop untreatable cysts and can become infertile. This project will develop a Chlamydia vaccine to be administered to healthy and diseased koalas in zoos, sanctuaries, koala care centres, relocat ....Development of an anti-Chlamydia vaccine for the koala. The koala is one of Australia's main icons and a major drawcard for tourists. However, it suffers from debilitating disease due to the bacterium Chlamydia, which can lead to severe conjunctivitis, eventual blindness in both sexes, and the females develop untreatable cysts and can become infertile. This project will develop a Chlamydia vaccine to be administered to healthy and diseased koalas in zoos, sanctuaries, koala care centres, relocation programs and eventually perhaps even wild populations. The vaccine findings may also be transferable to other animals and may also even assist the development of a human Chlamydia vaccine.Read moreRead less
Novel Babesia proteins and their roles in the pathogenesis of tick fever. This project aims at gaining a deep understanding of the biology of Babesia parasites and how they cause tick fever in cattle. The project expects to discover novel parasite proteins involved in the development and persistence of tick fever and identify their functional role in infection. The main expected outcome is the discovery of parasite proteins that are critical for infection and pathogenesis of cattle tick fever. T ....Novel Babesia proteins and their roles in the pathogenesis of tick fever. This project aims at gaining a deep understanding of the biology of Babesia parasites and how they cause tick fever in cattle. The project expects to discover novel parasite proteins involved in the development and persistence of tick fever and identify their functional role in infection. The main expected outcome is the discovery of parasite proteins that are critical for infection and pathogenesis of cattle tick fever. The findings will contribute to the development of future novel vaccines to control tick fever, with significant economic benefits for the beef and dairy industries worldwide.Read moreRead less
Developing a chlamydial vaccine for koalas. Developing a chlamydial vaccine for koalas . This project aims to produce an optimised, safe, field-tested, protective Chlamydia vaccine for koalas. In many regions of Australia, Chlamydia infection severely reduces female koala reproductive rates, threatening the species’ long term survival. This project builds on work developing a prototype vaccine for koala Chlamydia, and intends to produce a vaccine ready for potential registration and use by koala ....Developing a chlamydial vaccine for koalas. Developing a chlamydial vaccine for koalas . This project aims to produce an optimised, safe, field-tested, protective Chlamydia vaccine for koalas. In many regions of Australia, Chlamydia infection severely reduces female koala reproductive rates, threatening the species’ long term survival. This project builds on work developing a prototype vaccine for koala Chlamydia, and intends to produce a vaccine ready for potential registration and use by koala care centres, wildlife hospitals and government departments.Read moreRead less
Development of a vaccine to protect koalas against koala retrovirus (KoRV). This project aims to develop a vaccine against koala retrovirus (KoRV) to arrest the increasing loss of animals due to this infection. Along with Chlamydia, KoRV threatens the long-term survival of the koala. KoRV infects over 95 per cent of Australia’s koalas and has been strongly linked to lymphoma and leukemia. Although quarantine and antiretroviral drug treatment are possible control measures, they are impractical in ....Development of a vaccine to protect koalas against koala retrovirus (KoRV). This project aims to develop a vaccine against koala retrovirus (KoRV) to arrest the increasing loss of animals due to this infection. Along with Chlamydia, KoRV threatens the long-term survival of the koala. KoRV infects over 95 per cent of Australia’s koalas and has been strongly linked to lymphoma and leukemia. Although quarantine and antiretroviral drug treatment are possible control measures, they are impractical in the wild, leaving vaccination as the only realistic option. This is valuable for both wild and captive koalas; zoos report high animal losses due to KoRV-associated lymphoma. The main outcome will be a KoRV vaccine which can be combined with a Chlamydia vaccine which is being developed in parallel.Read moreRead less