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Scientists have started vaccinating wild koalas against chlamydia in New South Wales, Australia.
在澳大利亚新南威尔士州，科学家已经开始为野生考拉接种预防衣原体的疫苗。
The disease causes blindness, infertility and death.
这种疾病会导致失明、不孕和死亡。
Samuel Phillips is a microbiologist at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
塞缪尔·菲利普斯是阳光海岸大学的微生物学家。
He helped develop the vaccine.
他帮助研发了疫苗。
He said the disease is "killing koalas because they become so sick they can't climb trees to get food, or escape predators, and females can become infertile."
他说，这种疾病“正在杀死考拉，因为它们病得很重，无法爬树获取食物，也无法躲避捕食者，雌性考拉可能会不能生育。
An infertile koala cannot reproduce.
不能生育的考拉不能繁殖。
The scientists' first goal is to catch, vaccinate and carefully follow around half of the koala population in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales.
科学家的第一个目标是捕捉、接种疫苗并仔细跟踪新南威尔士州北部河流地区约一半的考拉。
That means vaccinating around 50 animals.
这意味着要为大约50只考拉接种疫苗。
Researchers have already tested the vaccine on koalas in wildlife rescue centers.
研究人员已经在野生动物救援中心的考拉身上测试了这种疫苗。
Those tests confirmed that the vaccine works and is safe to use.
测试证实，疫苗有效，可以安全使用。
To reduce infections and disease, scientists want to learn what percentage of the wild population needs vaccinating.
为了减少感染和疾病，科学家希望了解野生考拉需要接种疫苗的比例。
Scientists caught and vaccinated the first koalas in March.
今年3月，科学家捕捉了第一批考拉并为其接种了疫苗。
The effort is expected to last about three months.
这项工作预计将会持续大约三个月。
Koalas in other parts of Australia are also infected with chlamydia.
澳大利亚其他地区的考拉也感染了衣原体。
In Queensland, scientists estimate about half of the animals already have the disease.
在昆士兰州，科学家估计大约有一半的动物已经患上了这种疾病。
To give the vaccine, the scientists put circular fences around the bottom of the trees in which the koalas feed.
为了给考拉接种疫苗，科学家在考拉觅食的树的底部周围围上了圆形栅栏。
After a few hours or days, the koalas climb down from one tree to look for tasty leaves on another.
几个小时或几天后，考拉从一棵树上爬下来，到另一棵树上寻找美味的叶子。
Then they will wander into traps placed on the ground.
然后，它们会进入放置在地面上的陷阱中。
The traps do not hurt the animals.
陷阱不会伤害考拉。
Next, the scientists check the animals, give them medicine to prevent pain from vaccination, and give the vaccine.
接下来，科学家对考拉进行检查，给它们服用止痛的药物，然后给它们接种疫苗。
They watch the animals closely for 24 hours to check for problems.
他们24小时密切观察考拉，以检查是否有问题。
They also put a pink spot on the backs of the animals.
他们还在考拉的背上标了一个粉红点。
This lets the scientists know which animals have already been vaccinated.
这让科学家知道哪些考拉已经接种了疫苗。
Most of the time, koalas eat and sleep in eucalyptus trees.
大多数时候，考拉在桉树上进食和睡觉。
Their population has greatly decreased during the past 20 years.
在过去的20年里，它们的数量大大减少了。
Last February, Australia's government put koalas in the eastern regions of New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory on a list of endangered species.
去年2月，澳大利亚政府将新南威尔士州东部地区、昆士兰州和澳大利亚首都领地的考拉列入濒危物种名单。
Disease, loss of areas to live, and road crashes are all making it more difficult for koalas to survive.
疾病、栖息地的丧失以及交通事故都使考拉更难生存下来。
A 2020 study from the New South Wales government found that koalas could become extinct by the year 2050.
新南威尔士州政府2020年的一项研究发现，到2050年，考拉可能会灭绝。
Scientists think koalas may have gotten chlamydia from contact with feces from infected sheep or cattle.
科学家认为，考拉可能是因为接触了受感染的羊或牛的粪便而感染了衣原体。
Doctors use antibiotics to treat the disease in humans.
医生使用抗生素来治疗感染衣原体的人类。
But koalas have a special enzyme in their stomachs that prevents the antibiotics from working.
但考拉的胃里有一种特殊的酶，可以阻止抗生素发挥作用。
Mathew Crowther is a conservation biologist at the University of Sydney.
马修·克劳瑟是悉尼大学的保护生物学家。
He has been observing koalas in New South Wales for over 10 years.
他已经在新南威尔士州观察考拉超过10年了。
In 2008, 10 percent of animals tested there were infected with chlamydia.
2008年，在那里接受测试的考拉中有10%感染了衣原体。
Today that rate is 80 percent.
如今，这一比例为80%。
He said it is rare to see any baby koalas in the area.
他说，在该地区很少看到考拉宝宝。
Around the world, there have been very few other projects to give vaccines to wild animals.
在世界各地，其他为野生动物接种疫苗的项目很少。
"Vaccination for wildlife is certainly not routine yet," said Jacob Negrey, a biologist at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
维克森林大学医学院的生物学家雅各布·内格里说：“为野生动物接种疫苗肯定还不是常规做法。”
He added that biologists are trying to learn if vaccination of wild animals should increase.
他补充说，生物学家正在试图了解是否应该增加为野生动物接种疫苗的项目。
I'm Andrew Smith.
安德鲁·史密斯为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
