A vaccine used to treat chlamydia in Australia's koala population has been approved for rollout, in a world-first project.

Researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast spent more than 10 years developing a single-dose vaccine to protect the famed Australian marsupial from the effects of chlamydia, which include urinary tract infections, infertility, blindness and death, the university said in a statement on Wednesday.

Chlamydia is responsible for half of koala deaths in the country's wild populations, which are predominantly found in the eucalyptus forests along Australia's eastern coast.

"Some individual colonies are edging closer to local extinction every day, particularly in South East Queensland and New South Wales, where infection rates within populations are o

See Full Page