Koala with diabetes at San Diego Zoo gets help from new technology

SAN DIEGO, California -- Quincy the koala bear was recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, so a group of experts stepped in to help.

After he suffered a series of life-threatening hypoglycemic events, the zoo partnered with Dexcom to get him the newest continuous glucose monitoring device to help monitor his illness.

"Very few koalas have been diagnosed with and treated for diabetes," says San Diego Zoo senior veterinarian Cora Singleton.

With the new technology, his veterinarians will no longer need to enter his enclosure to prick his ear multiple times a day to test his blood glucose levels.

"You can imagine what this technology means for Quincy, and any person trying to manage this challenging disease," said Dexcom VP of advanced technology Peter Simpson.

Koalas normally sleep during the day and are solitary animals. San Diego Zoo staff hope the new sensor will allow them to get more detail about Quincy's glucose levels while also reducing the number of times they need to disturb him.

They look forward to having information that will help them develop a treatment plan to improve Quincy's condition.

Diabetes has rarely been documented in koalas, and animal care experts do not know what may have triggered this condition in Quincy.

Click here for more information about the Dexcom CGM.