Development of a chlamydial vaccine for koalas : Protection against infection and disease

Abstract

Abstract Wild koala populations continue to experience serious declines as a result of several threatening factors including, (i) loss of habitat, (ii) motor vehicle trauma; (iii) dog attacks; (iv) Chlamydia. Chlamydial infections are associated with diseases ranging from ocular disease leading to blindness, as well as urinary and genital tract disease, leading to female infertility. Modeling shows that targeting chlamydial disease would have a major impact on stabilising population decline. Our studies have demonstrated that koalas can be safely immunized with a vaccine containing a mixture of chlamydial major outer membrane protein (MOMP) antigens combined with a single dose subcutaneous regime. We conducted a wild koala field trial and observed strong, specific and long-lasting immune responses in the vaccinated koalas; high titre antibody responses (as measured by ELISA and also in vitro neutralisation) as well as Chlamydia-specific cytokine responses (interferon-gamma and IL-17 in particular). For animals which were Chlamydia PCR positive at the time of vaccination, we observed a significant reduction in their infection PCR load. We also observed protection from progression to clinical disease in the vaccinated animals. We also conducted a small trial to vaccinate animals which already have clinical signs of ocular disease. Instead of the normal practice of administering antibiotics (chloramphenicol, daily for 28 days, which severely disrupts the animal’s gut microbiome) we vaccinated four animals with a single dose, 3-MOMP vaccine. For all vaccinated animals, their Chlamydia PCR load decreased, and for 6 of the 7 animals, ocular disease regressed and the animals could be released back into the wild without further treatment.