Rare mineral clays found in the traditional territories

Rare mineral clays found in the traditional territories of the Heiltsuk First Nation, about 400 kms north of Vancouver, can fight bacterial infections in hospitals, scientist at the University of British Columbia have found. About 10,000 years ago, near the end of the last Ice Age, a 400,000 tonne deposit of the clay was formed over a five-acre granite basin. The First Nations have used the clay over the centuries to treat ulcerative colitis, duodenal ulcer, arthritis, neuritis, phlebitis, skin irritation, and burns.

The clays killed 16 strains of the ESKAPE bacteria in laboratory testing. Sources of the bacteria used in the tests came from St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver General Hospital, and UBC’s wastewater treatment plant.

“Infections caused by ESKAPE bacteria are essentially untreatable and contribute to increasing mortality in hospitals,” said UBC microbiologist Julian Davies, co-author of a paper published in the American Society for Microbiology’s mBio journal.

The clay presents no toxic side effects, but further research is required to see if it is suitable for clinical treatment.

“More than 50 years of misuse and overuse of antibiotics has led to a plague of antibiotic resistance that threatens to reduce the efficacy of antimicrobial agents available for the treatment of infections due to resistant organisms,” reads the paper.

“The main threat is nosocomial infections in which certain pathogens, notably the ESKAPE organisms, are essentially untreatable and contribute to increasing mortality and morbidity in surgical wards.”