Research and References

This list contains publications where research was undertaken by researchers at Port Macquarie Koala Hospital (PMKH), or by researchers outside PMKH and using data from PMKH.

Bachmann, N. L., Fraser, T.A., Bertelli, C., Jelocnik M., Gillett A., Funnell O., Flanagan C., Myers G. S., Timms P., & Polkinghorne A. (2014). Comparative genomics of koala, cattle and sheep strains of Chlamydia pecorum. BMC Genomics 15, 667. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-15-667


Budd, C., Flanagan, C., Gillett, A., Hanger, J., Loader, J. J., & Govendir, M. (2017). Assessment of florfenicol as a possible treatment for chlamydiosis in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). Australian Veterinary Journal, 95(9), 343–349. https://doi.org/10.1111/avj.12617


Burnard, D., Weaver, H., Gillett, A., Loader, J., Flanagan, C., & Polkinghorne, A. (2017). Novel Chlamydiales genotypes identified in ticks from Australian wildlife. Parasites & Vectors, 10(1), 46. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-017-1994-y

Burnard, D., Huston, W. M., Webb, J. K., Jelocnik, M., Reiss, A., Gillett, A., Fitzgibbon, S., Carver, S., Carrucan, J.,
Flanagan, C., Timms, P., & Polkinghorne, A. (2017). Molecular evidence of Chlamydia pecorum and arthropod-associated Chlamydiae in an expanded range of marsupials. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 12844. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-13164-y


Casteriano, A., Van Aggelen, A. R., Fischer, S., Flanagan, C., Marschner, C., Nugent, H., Huston, W., & Higgins, D. P. (2023). Evaluation of a biosecurity survey approach for contamination by Chlamydia pecorum in koala rehabilitation, field capture, and captive settings. PeerJ, 11, e15842. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15842


Charalambous, R. (2019). Understanding the physiological impacts of stress on the Australian marsupial species, the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), within New South Wales and South Australia. Masters Thesis. Western Sydney University.

Charalambous R, & Narayan E. (2020). A 29-year retrospective analysis of koala rescues in New South Wales, Australia. PLOS ONE, 15(10): e0239182. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239182


Cochrane, T. (2022). Effect of soil treatment on the growth and foliage chemistry of three Eucalyptus species grown in a plantation as a food source for koalas. Honours Dissertation, Charles Sturt University.


Cochrane, T., Knight, A., McManus, S., & Castle, S. (2023). Koala feeding patterns at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, 2016-2018. Poster, 3rd National Koala Conference , Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia.


Cochrane, T., Krebs, G. L., McManus, S., Castle, S., Spooner, P. G., & Cooper, P. (2023). Effect of soil treatment on the growth and foliage chemistry of three Eucalyptus species grown in a plantation as a food source for koalas. Australian Journal of Zoology 71(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO22046


Connolly, J. H., Krockenberger, M. B., Malik, R., Canfield, P. J., Wigney, D. I., & Muir, D. B. (1999). Asymptomatic carriage of Cryptococcus neoformans in the nasal cavity of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). Medical Mycology, 37(5), 331–338. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-280x.1999.00236.x


Fernandez, C. M., Schmertmann, L. J., Higgins, D. P., Casteriano, A., Irinyi, L., Mella, V. S. A., Crowther, M. S., Meyer, W., & Krockenberger, M. B., (2019). Genetic differences in Chlamydia pecorum between neighbouring sub-populations of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). Veterinary Microbiology 231, 264-270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2019.02.020.


Griffith, J. E., (2010). Studies into the diagnosis, treatment and management of chlamydiosis in koalas. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Sydney.


Griffith, J. E., Dhand, N. K., Krockenberger, M. B., & Higgins, D. P. (2013). A retrospective study of admission trends of koalas to a rehabilitation facility over 30 years. Journal of wildlife diseases, 49(1), 18–28. https://doi.org/10.7589/2012-05-135


Griffith, J. & Higgins, D. (2012). Diagnosis, treatment and outcomes for koala chlamydiosis at a rehabilitation facility (1995–2005). Australian Veterinary Journal, 90, 457-463. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-0813.2012.00963.x


Hemsley, S., & Canfield, P. J. (1997). Histopathological and immunohistochemical investigation of naturally occurring chlamydial conjunctivitis and urogenital inflammation in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). Journal of Comparative Pathology, 116(3), 273-290. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-9975(97)80003-5.


Higgins, D. P., Beninati, T., Meek, M., Irish, J., & Griffith, J. E. (2012). Within-population diversity of koala Chlamydophila pecorum at ompA VD1-VD3 and the ORF663 hypothetical gene. Veterinary Microbiology, 156(3-4), 353–358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2011.11.005


Higgins, D. P., Hemsley, S., & Canfield, P. J. (2005). Immuno-histochemical demonstration of the role of chlamydiaceae in renal, uterine and Salpingeal disease of the koala, and demonstration of chlamydiaceae in novel sites. Journal of Comparative Pathology, 133(2-3), 164–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcpa.2005.04.005


Hobbs, M., Pavasovic, A., King, A. G., Prentis, P. J., Eldridge, M. D., Chen, Z., Colgan, D. J., Polkinghorne, A., Wilkins, M. R., Flanagan, C., Gillett, A., Hanger, J., Johnson, R. N., & Timms, P. (2014). A transcriptome resource for the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus): insights into koala retrovirus transcription and sequence diversity. BMC Genomics, 15(1), 786. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-15-786


Jelocnik, M., Bachmann, N. L., Kaltenboeck, B., Waugh, C., Woolford, L., Speight, K. N., Gillett, A., Higgins, D. P., Flanagan, C., Myers, G. S., Timms, P., & Polkinghorne, A. (2015). Genetic diversity in the plasticity zone and the presence of the chlamydial plasmid differentiates Chlamydia pecorum strains from pigs, sheep, cattle, and koalas. BMC Genomics, 16, 893. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-015-2053-8


Krockenberger, M. B., Canfield, P. J., & Malik, R. (2002). Cryptococcus neoformans in the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus): colonization by C n. var. gattii and investigation of environmental sources. Medical Mycology, 40(3), 263–272. https://doi.org/10.1080/mmy.40.3.263.272


Kenyon, G. (2019) Secrets of the koala hospital. New Scientist 242(3234) 44-45 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0262-4079(19)31088


Mackie, J. T., Gillett, A. K., Palmieri, C., Feng, T., & Higgins, D. P. (2016). Pneumonia due to Chlamydia pecorum in a Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). Journal of Comparative Pathology, 155(4), 356–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcpa.2016.07.011


Marschner, C., Flanagan, C., Higgins, D. P., & Krockenberger, M. B. (2014). Validation of ultrasonography in detecting structural disease of the urogenital tract of the koala, Phascolarctos cinereus. Australian Veterinary Journal, 92(5), 177–178. https://doi.org/10.1111/avj.12167


Neaves, L. E., Frankham, G. J., Dennison, S., FitzGibbon, S., Flannagan, C., Gillett, A., Hynes, E., Handasyde, K., Helgen, K. M., Tsangaras, K., Greenwood, A. D., Eldridge, M. D., & Johnson, R. N. (2016). Phylogeography of the Koala, (Phascolarctos cinereus), and Harmonising Data to Inform Conservation. PloS One, 11(9), e0162207. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0162207


Pahuja, H. K., & Narayan, E. J. (2023). Comparing the agreement of a commercial cortisol kit with a biologically validated assay in evaluating faecal cortisol metabolite levels in koala joeys. Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & Integrative Physiology, 276,111353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2022.111353


Port Macquarie Hastings Council (2018). Koala Plan of Management.


Starr, Jean. (1990). Koalas. In Care and Handling of Australian Native Animals: Emergency Care and Captive Management. Hand, S. J. Ed. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. https://doi.org/10.7882/RZSNSW.1990.009