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The nation's chlamydia rates have climbed fourfold in the past decade, with more than 40,000 new cases reported each year.



Researchers at the Queensland University of Technology are developing a vaccine specifically designed for young women and on Wednesday reported positive results.



Professor Peter Timms said the team already had identified certain proteins that were able to protect against chlamydia infection.



"We've been testing these proteins as part of animal trials ... and we think we've got the answer," said Prof Timms, from the university's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation.



"It is possible that within three to five years we'll be finished the animal trials and be looking at clinical trials in humans."



The team is working with pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Pasteur to compare and test possible prevention methods developed by both organisations.



Prof Timms said once a vaccine had been developed it could be administered via a patch, similar to nicotine patches used by smokers.



"Patches are a good way to deliver proteins to a part of the body's immune system and they are also easy and user-friendly," he said.



Chlamydia is the most frequently reported notifiable condition in Australia, with rates of infection among women as high as 12 per cent in some communities.



Women with the disease suffer from infertility and long-term chronic pelvic pain.



"There are antibiotics to treat it, but there's no vaccine to prevent it," Prof Timms said.



"In many cases women don't know they are infected because there are not really any physical signs or symptoms, so by and large they don't get treatment."



Kaynak: SağlıkHaber