首页
登录
职称英语
The koala, one of Australia’s most treasured creatures, is in trouble? In Qu
The koala, one of Australia’s most treasured creatures, is in trouble? In Qu
游客
2023-12-23
25
管理
问题
The koala, one of Australia’s most treasured creatures, is in trouble? In Queensland, the vast state in Australia’s northeastern corner, surveys suggest that from 2001 to 2008, their numbers dropped as much as 45 percent in urban areas and 15 percent in bush land.
While climate change and habitat loss are affecting koalas and many other Australian animals— from birds and frogs to marsupials like wombats—it is a bacterial infection that is worrying many scientists about the fate of the koala. "Disease is a somewhat silent killer and has the very real potential to finish koala populations in Queensland," said Dr. Amber Gillett, a veterinarian at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital in Beerwah.
The killer is chlamydia, a class of bacteria far better known for causing venereal disease in humans. Recent surveys show that chlamydia has caused symptoms in up to 50 percent of Queensland’s wild koalas, with more probably infected but not showing symptoms. The bacteria— transmitted during birth, through mating and possibly through fighting—come in two strains, neither the same as the human form. One form can jump to other species, but so far there is no evidence that it has spread from koalas to humans or vice versa.
Chlamydia causes a host of symptoms, including eye infections that can lead to blindness, respiratory infections and cysts? The epidemic has been severe in Queensland, where most koalas are infected with koala retrovirus, said Dr. Gillett. This retrovirus is an H. I. V. -like infection that suppresses the immune system and interferes with its ability to fight off chlamydia.
Treating chlamydia in wild koalas is a challenge. Only a small percentage of the animals can be treated successfully and returned to the wild. And infected females often become infertile, so future population growth is affected as well. There is no treatment available for koala retrovirus, but researchers are working to test a vaccine that would help prevent further spreading of chlamydia.
A study published in 2010 in The American Journal of Reproductive Immunology found that this vaccine is safe and effective in healthy female koalas. Further work is being done to test it in koalas that are already infected. Peter Timms, a professor at the Queensland University of Technology who is leading the effort to test the chlamydia vaccine, is hopeful that there will be another trial this year to test it in captive male koalas, followed by wild koalas. If all goes well, plans can be set in motion to distribute the vaccine.
Many experts believe this vaccine would be an important step in helping koalas survive longer, perhaps buying enough time for researchers to solve some of the other problems they face. "In situations where you combine habitat pressure, domestic dog attacks and car hits with severe chlamydial disease, the outcome for koalas is devastating," Dr. Gillett said. [br] According to the passage, future koala populations will be affected by______.
选项
A、long captivity
B、disease-related infertility
C、eye infection
D、respiratory infection
答案
B
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3297341.html
相关试题推荐
ThetroubledU.S.-Canadarelationshipmightbefixedby______.[br][original
ThetroubledU.S.-Canadarelationshipmightbefixedby______.[br][original
ThetroubledU.S.-Canadarelationshipmightbefixedby______.[br][original
ThetroubledU.S.-Canadarelationshipmightbefixedby______.[br][original
ThetroubledU.S.-Canadarelationshipmightbefixedby______.[br][original
ThetroubledU.S.-Canadarelationshipmightbefixedby______.[br][original
ThetroubledU.S.-Canadarelationshipmightbefixedby______.[originaltext]T
WhydoconservationistsinAustraliasupportthepolicyofkillingcats?[br][
WhydoconservationistsinAustraliasupportthepolicyofkillingcats?[br][
WhydoconservationistsinAustraliasupportthepolicyofkillingcats?[br][
随机试题
MorethantwomillionpeopleinEuropenowhavefibrebroadbanddirecttoth
Wheneverpossible,theyoungfellowtriesto_________howwellhecansingEnglis
随着机动车保有量的快速增加,我国城市空气开始呈现出煤烟和机动车尾气复合污染的特点
地震区砌体结构房屋的总高度限值与()有关。Ⅰ.砌体类型;Ⅱ.砌体强度;Ⅲ.设
男性,85岁,有心肌梗死史,心功能Ⅳ级。因胃穿孔拟在全麻行胃穿孔修补术,最适宜的
某事业单位2013年年初事业基金中,事业基金为75万元,财政补助结余为80万元。
相畏的配伍是A.天南星配生姜B.甘草配甘遂C.石膏配牛膝D.丁香配郁金E.藜芦配
下列有关会计职业道德"客观公正"的表述中,正确的有()。A、依法办事是会计工作
下列客户类型中,( )客户是房地产经纪人应重点培养的目标,属潜在顾客,其需求经
1998-68.以下哪项不是癃闭的病因病机 A.膀胱湿热B.肺热壅盛C.
最新回复
(
0
)