One of the funniest (and saddest) animal facts you can learn is that those cuddly, tree-dwelling, eucalyptus leaf-munching koalas are actually fuzzy little magnets for chlamydia. The STD rips through koala populations like wildfire—or at least it used to.
An Australian university has developed a chlamydia vaccine specifically for koalas that might save the species. The University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC), located in Queensland, Australia, has spent several years working on a koala-centric chlamydia vaccine that has finally been approved for rollout across the country.
The project was spearheaded by microbiologist Peter Timms, with help from the University of Saskatchewan, the International Vaccine Institute, and even financial backing from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Quality populations have been dwindling, in part due to a variety of factors, like habitat loss, climate-induced wildfires, and, of course, UTIs like chlamydia, which cause infertility, blindness, and death.
Yep, There’s Finally a Chlamydia Vaccine for Koalas
While habitat loss and climate change-induced wildfires are larger societal issues, at least the chlamydia vaccine will address one factor decimating koala populations, which could reach an infection rate as staggeringly high as 90 percent.
The vaccine is the result of the largest and longest koala study ever conducted. Over ten years, researchers tracked 680 koalas, trialed the vaccine on 165, and eventually landed on a safe, effective formula that prevents the disease while even reversing symptoms in some cases.
The vaccine is made from six components, including three proteins from Chlamydia pecorum itself, designed to cover different strains across Australia. The other three ingredients make up an adjuvant, meaning there is no need for a booster shot. Everything a koala needs to fend off chlamydia is packed into a single shot. No need to track down koalas for a booster shot.
The vaccine is now approved and being manufactured by Tréidlia Biovet, and researchers, including Sam Phillips, a UniSC researcher, say they have already seen a 65 percent drop in chlamydia-related deaths in trial populations.
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