virus-bacteria co-infection tagged posts

Drug works against ‘Superbug’ Biofilms, deadly Respiratory Virus

Pseudomonas aeruginosa killed by the engineered cationic antimicrobial peptide (eCAP). Killed bacteria (red), living bacteria (green). Credit: Jeffrey Melvin, Pitt

Pseudomonas aeruginosa killed by the engineered cationic antimicrobial peptide (eCAP). Killed bacteria (red), living bacteria (green). Credit: Jeffrey Melvin, Pitt

A potential drug therapy developed at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research (CVR) has proven effective against tough bacterial biofilms and a respiratory virus simultaneously. The drug outperforms traditional therapies in the laboratory setting. “To the best of our knowledge, no other antibiotics out there work on both the bacteria and the virus during a co-infection,” said Jennifer M. Bomberger, Ph.D., assistant professor in Pitt’s Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics.

Chronic infections, such as those that kill cystic fibrosis patients, resist the body’s efforts to clear them from the lungs, sin...

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