An unlikely critter can help scientists learn more about the effects of chlamydia in humans.
Most scientific studies are done on mice or rats, but scientists have found a striking similarity between the effects of chlamydia in koalas and in humans. The chlamydia bacteria in koalas is very similar to the one found in humans. Studying–and eradicating–chlamydia in koalas may also be the breakthrough for the human race.
Chlamydia can be very damaging for koalas. Symptoms include severe inflammation, massive cysts, and scarring of the reproductive tract. “[The] scarring and chronic inflammation leads to infertility, topic pregnancies or possible pelvic inflammatory disease,” said Ken Beagley, a professor of immunology at Queensland University of Technology.
Scientists are now on the hunt to save koalas from chlamydia. This is done by giving a chlamydia vaccine to koalas and observe how the vaccine does in real conditions. Their findings will be helpful in developing a vaccine for humans. Watch more about what scientists are doing to save koalas in this video:
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