Kisameet Clay’s Potent Antibacterial Activity Grabs Headlines
The ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseu- domonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species) pathogens cause an increasing number of nosocomial infections worldwide since they escape the inhibitory effect of the available antibiotics and the immune response.
Kisameet clay, a natural clay mineral from British Columbia, Canada, has a broad-spectrum and potent antibacterial activity against a group of multidrug-resistant ESKAPE strains. The results suggest that this natural clay might be developed as a therapeutic option for the treatment of serious infections caused by these important pathogens. This revelation has garnered significant media interest (see links below).
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.
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.
The pipeline of novel antimicrobials in the pharmaceutical industry is essentially empty. Thus, there is a great need to seek for new sources for the treatment of recalcitrant infectious diseases. Kisameet clay is worthy of clinical investigation for the treatment of infections due to multidrug-resistant organisms.
Researcher: Shekooh Behroozian
Collaborators: Julian Davies Lab, UBC Micobiology and Immunology, Dr. Sarah Svensson & LSI
Read full publication: mBio-2016-Behroozian – Kisameet Clay
Read the following media articles:
International Business Times: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/rare-prehistoric-mineral-clay-found-canada-could-treat-serious-bacterial-infections-1540518
Popular Science: http://www.popsci.com/canadian-clay-kills-drug-resistant-bacteria
Global BC/National: http://globalnews.ca/news/2480871/first-nations-clay-is-antibacterial-ubc-researchers-say/
National Post: http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/ancient-clay-used-by-b-c-aboriginals-can-kill-drug-resistant-bacteria-ubc-researchers
CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-clay-1.3421198