The koala is an iconic wildlife species found only on the East Coast of Australia. The species is classed as vulnerable of the ICUN red list of threatened species. The main threat to the population is habitat loss but infectious diseases, in particular Chlamydiosis (causing infertility) and koala retrovirus (causing cancers and immunosuppression) have a measurable impact on population viability.
Rachael Tarlinton and Richard Emes' work with collaborators at the University of Queensland the University of Adelaide in Australia has made some major advances in understanding how koala retrovirus affects these populations and this work is feeding directly into disease and population management programmes for wild and zoo animals aimed at reducing the impact of infectious diseases on already stretched wild populations.