CHLAMYDIA-PSITTACI IN A KOALA (PHASCOLARCTOS-CINEREUS) POPULATION IN SOUTH-EAST QUEENSLAND

Clinical signs are useful in determining the level of overt disease. H owever, neither the complement fixation test, nor the presence of clin ical signs of disease are appropriate measures for the detection of Ch lamydia psittaci in koalas because of false negative rates of 43 and 5 7%, respectively. Infection due to C. psittaci was most accurately det ermined in a population of koalas in rural south-east Queensland by in vitro cell culture of samples from ocular and urogenital sites. Preva lence of infection ranged from 39 to 61% with no evidence of a trend w ith time. Females had more urogenital and fewer concurrent ocular and urogenital infections than males. Parous females (n = 17) were free of disease and only one was recorded with urogenital infection (cell cul ture). In non-parous females (n = 16), six showed clinical signs of ur ogenital disease and a further three were infected (cell culture).