Virus in kangaroos

May 10, 1995
Issue 
186

Virus in kangaroos

By Deirdre Graham

A virus which blinds kangaroos has been discovered in three states — NSW, Victoria and South Australia. Researchers in NSW say the disease has the potential to kill off 7% of NSW's western grey kangaroos — whose current population is just less than a million.

David Butcher from the World Wide Fund for Nature said the disease was one which needed watching, and "alarm bells should be starting to ring" about it.

He said officials issuing this year's culling licences would need to take it into account and issue fewer licences.

The virus — it is still not known if it is a new one for the western greys — attacks the optic nerve in the kangaroo, rendering it blind. The kangaroo then has difficulty feeding and watering.

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