Viruses are smaller than bacteria and require a living host to thrive and multiply. They can be active in plants, animals or people. They all have a protein coat and a core composed of genetic material.
A virus acts by entering the body and taking over some of the cells, devoting them to reproducing the virus. Major diseases like AIDS, chicken pox and the common cold are caused by viruses. Some viruses aim at specific body parts, including the liver or blood.
To confuse the issue, some diseases – meningitis, diarrhea and pneumonia, to name three – can be caused by either bacteria or viruses. But there has to be a distinction drawn because the two require very different treatments. Antibiotic drugs can kill bacteria but are not effective against viruses.
The major problem is when viruses are treated with antibiotics, for that affords an opportunity for bacteria to become antibiotic resistant. That is a major medical problem because it takes away perhaps the best tool doctors have for fighting infections. Some viruses can be vaccinated against, relying on the strength of the immune system to fight off further infection. But for the most part, viruses like HIV and the common cold are believed to be incurable, at least with the medical knowledge we have to date.
Problems with Antibiotics
The biggest difference in approaches to treatments for bacteria and viruses is the use of antibiotics. When they first appeared in the 1940s, antibiotics were hailed as miracle drugs. For the first time, the risk of surgical infections could be dealt with by fighting off infectious bacteria.
But over-use of antibiotics has created a problem. The bacteria have adapted to certain strains of antibiotics, allowing them to continue damaging cells. The drugs that formerly killed them are no longer effective, or not as effective. The formal term is antibiotic-resistant, and that issue is growing.