Mother nature to the rescue?

I never travel without a clay powder product called Smecta which helps settle an upset stomach and is not harsh like many modern medicines. For centuries people have enjoyed the therapeutic qualities of mud from the Dead Sea and now researchers will present the results of their study of clay from the Massif Central in France.

Scientists have discovered a new and highly effective weapon against deadly superbugs like the MRSA sweeping through Britain's dirty hospital wards – green French muck.

The dramatic antibiotic success of agricur, a clay made from ancient volcanic ash found near the Massif Central, marks it out as a potential rival to penicillin, the wonder drug of the 20th century. In experiments, the clay killed up to 99 per cent of superbug colonies within 24 hours. Control samples of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) grew 45-fold in the same period.

The clay has a similar effect on other deadly bacteria tested, including salmonella, E. coli, and a flesh-eating disease called buruli, a relative of leprosy which disfigures children across central and western Africa. It has been classed as "an emerging public health threat" by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Besides the effectiveness of natural treatments and the gentleness on the body compared to so many pharmaceuticals, products like this cost very little. Health care systems and insurance companies need to pay much more attention to simple solutions that solve problems though the Big Pharma lobby will probably not stand for such cheap alternatives. Doctors should also be taking a look but of course we also know that too many of them are also in the pocket of Big Pharma.