CU Boulder Researchers Announce New Weapon In 'Superbug' Battle

BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) -- Experts say the COVID-19 pandemic is triggering increased risks from another microbial threat drug-resistant bacteria. Now, researchers at University of Colorado Boulder say they've discovered a new way to fight those "superbugs."

Experts say many COVID-19 patients also suffer from secondary bacterial infections that are treated with antibiotics. The heightened use of antibiotics pandemic could increase resistance, Professor Corrie Detweiler explained. Detweiler also noted that many patients die not from the virus itself but from those hard-to-treat bacterial infections.

Detwieler and her research team identified a chemical compound called JD1 that works with a host's natural immune response to push past cellular barriers that help bacteria resist antibiotics.

They said it is "a totally new approach" that could point the way toward new, more effective drugs.