Koalas are spreading chlamydia + Humans can be affected
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A stunning and slightly uncomfortable reality threatening koalas: chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease.
About half the koalas across Australia are infected. In closed populations, the majority can be infected – sometimes up to 80 per cent.
The strain of the disease is different to the STI humans can encounter, but can be transmitted to humans via the animal’s urine.
Koala bears are notorious for peeing intentionally on predators, and it’s the bacteria in this pee that raises concern. Many koalas carry a strand of the STD Chlamydia, and their pee can transmit the disease to others it touches.
