{"id":894836,"date":"2021-10-18T16:44:39","date_gmt":"2021-10-18T20:44:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=894836"},"modified":"2021-10-18T16:44:41","modified_gmt":"2021-10-18T20:44:41","slug":"vaccine-trial-seeks-to-solve-chlamydia-epidemic-ravaging-australias-koalas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vaccine-trial-seeks-to-solve-chlamydia-epidemic-ravaging-australias-koalas\/","title":{"rendered":"Vaccine Trial Seeks To Solve Chlamydia Epidemic Ravaging Australia\u2019s Koalas"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvaccine-trial-seeks-to-solve-chlamydia-epidemic-ravaging-australias-koalas%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=894836&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The sexually transmitted disease chlamydia has become so widespread among koalas in Australia that researchers are going to conduct a vaccine trial to curb the spread of the disease.<\/p>\n<p>Around 400 koalas will be vaccinated as part of this research, as the chlamydia epidemic has taken hold of Australia\u2019s koala population. <a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/femsre\/article\/44\/5\/583\/5859487\">Research<\/a> indicates that up to 100 percent of some populations are testing positive for the disease.<\/p>\n<p>Koalas are herbivorous marsupials native to Australia and are found in coastal areas of the mainland\u2019s eastern and southern regions, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. They are largely sedentary, sleeping up to 20 hours every day. The remaining four hours are, it appears, earmarked for other activities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is a cruel disease that causes debilitating conjunctivitis, bladder infections and at times, infertility,\u201d said Dr. Amber Gillett, Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital veterinarian and coordinator of research, said in a statement on Friday as the trial began.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlthough many koalas with chlamydia can be treated using traditional antibiotics, some animals cannot be saved due to the severity of their infection,\u201d Dr. Gillett <a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2021-10-critical-vaccine-koalas.html\">continued<\/a>. \u201cHaving a vaccine that can help prevent both infection and the severity of the disease is a critical element in the species\u2019 conservation management.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chlamydia is a sexually-transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. According to researchers, the bacterial disease can also lead to blindness.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe koalas will each receive one dose of the vaccine and will be microchipped before being released into the wild,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/10\/17\/australia\/australia-koalas-vaccine-chlamydia-intl-hnk\/index.html\">CNN<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile this vaccination will directly benefit each of the animals, the trial will also have a focus on the protection provided by vaccination,\u201d said Peter Timms, professor of microbiology at the University of the Sunshine Coast, which is leading the trial.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlthough in many cases chlamydia can be treated with antibiotics, the researchers said they hope the vaccine will help improve the survival and reproduction of the animals,\u201d reported <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/environment\/australian-koalas-line-up-chlamydia-vaccine-new-trial-2021-10-16\/\">Reuters<\/a>. \u201cEstimates of koala populations vary as they are difficult to count in the wild. A 2016 study ran by University of Queensland, calculated there were around 330,000 koalas left in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The trial began on October 15, with Shano the koala being the first patient to receive the immunization.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo evaluate the vaccine\u2019s efficacy, Timms and his colleagues will assess how many of the 200 vaccinated koalas are hospitalized with chlamydia symptoms over the next 12 months compared with 200 unvaccinated koalas,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/2294036-this-koala-was-first-to-be-vaccinated-against-chlamydia-in-new-trial\/\">New Scientist<\/a> reported.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Timms added that if the vaccine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The sexually transmitted disease chlamydia has become so widespread among koalas in Australia that researchers are going to conduct a vaccine trial to curb the spread of the disease.Around 400 koalas will be vaccinated as part of this research, as the chlamydia epidemic has taken hold of Australia\u2019s koala population. Research indicates that up to 100 percent of some populations are testing positive for the disease.Koalas are herbivorous marsupials native to Australia and are found in coastal areas of the mainland\u2019s eastern and southern regions, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. They are largely sedentary, sleeping up to 20 hours every day. The remaining four hours are, it appears, earmarked for other activities.\u201cIt is a cruel disease that causes debilitating conjunctivitis, bladder infections and at times, infertility,\u201d said Dr. Amber Gillett, Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital veterinarian and coordinator of research, said in a statement on Friday as the trial began.\u00a0\u201cAlthough many koalas with chlamydia can be treated using traditional antibiotics, some animals cannot be saved due to the severity of their infection,\u201d Dr. Gillett continued. \u201cHaving a vaccine that can help prevent both infection and the severity of the disease is a critical element in the species\u2019 conservation management.\u201dChlamydia is a sexually-transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. According to researchers, the bacterial disease can also lead to blindness.\u201cThe koalas will each receive one dose of the vaccine and will be microchipped before being released into the wild,\u201d CNN reported.\u201cWhile this vaccination will directly benefit each of the animals, the trial will also have a focus on the protection provided by vaccination,\u201d said Peter Timms, professor of microbiology at the University of the Sunshine Coast, which is leading the trial.\u201cAlthough in many cases chlamydia can be treated with antibiotics, the researchers said they hope the vaccine will help improve the survival and reproduction of the animals,\u201d reported Reuters. \u201cEstimates of koala populations vary as they are difficult to count in the wild. A 2016 study ran by University of Queensland, calculated there were around 330,000 koalas left in Australia.\u201dThe trial began on October 15, with Shano the koala being the first patient to receive the immunization.\u201cTo evaluate the vaccine\u2019s efficacy, Timms and his colleagues will assess how many of the 200 vaccinated koalas are hospitalized with chlamydia symptoms over the next 12 months compared with 200 unvaccinated koalas,\u201d the New Scientist reported.\u00a0Timms added that if the vaccine is approved for widespread use, \u201cit could help to turn around populations of koalas that might disappear,\u201d noting that the trial \u201cwill be closely watched by the human chlamydia vaccine world.\u201dIn terms of avoiding contracting chlamydia, medical experts recommend abstinence or the use of barrier-method contraceptives, such as condoms. However, after extensive research, it appears that the availability of koala-sized family planning products is limited, meaning that vaccination may be the final hope for koalas who, apparently, just can\u2019t say no.The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-894836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=894836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=894836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=894836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=894836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}