Northern Ontario School of Medicine researcher hopes study will lead to vaccine to stop deadly bacteria

Indigenous people in parts of Ontario are naturally resistant to a potentially deadly bacteria, according to a researcher at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

Dr. Marina Ulanova, an immunologist, looked at Haemophilus Influenza type A in Anishnaabe communities.

The bacteria can cause meningitis and blood poisoning and may be deadly, especially in children.

Ulanova says Indigenous people have been exposed to the pathogen more often than others.

"They develop as a protective mechanism probably as a result of unfavourable living conditions because our genetic system is influenced by environmental factors," she said.

"The hypothesis is that their living conditions shaped the immune system of First Nations people so they become non-responders to any kind of non-specific stimulation."

Ulanova goes on to say that the ability to fight the pathogen appears to have been passed down through the generations.

She says her study may lead to the development of an efficient vaccine to the bacteria.