• Question: What property (that antibiotics have) makes them able to cure so many different types of viruses?

    Asked by Dalj to Daniela ?, ☣ Danna, Jonny, Juan, Lindsay on 10 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Danna Gifford

      Danna Gifford answered on 10 Jun 2016:


      Ooh, this is an important question. First—antibiotics don’t kill viruses, they kill bacteria. Viruses like the cold and flu can’t be treated with antibiotics. The reason why antibiotics work on many different bacteria is that many of them have the same parts that can be attacked in the same way. But not all bacteria are the same. For example, many bacteria have a wall surrounding their cells that can be broken down by some kinds of antibiotics (like penicillin), and if this wall is broken, the cell explodes! But other bacteria have super thick walls that can’t be broken so easily, so the antibiotic has no effect.

    • Photo: Jonathan Hunter

      Jonathan Hunter answered on 10 Jun 2016:


      Additionally to Danna’s answer, antivirus drugs do exist. But they are much less common due to viruses being much more diverse than bacteria and change much more rapidly.
      Also, viruses reproduce inside another cell making them very hard to kill without hurting person that is infected with the virus.

    • Photo: Lindsay Robinson

      Lindsay Robinson answered on 11 Jun 2016:


      I don’t have much to add really. The important thing to understand is that antibiotics only kill bacteria and not viruses. It’s why if you’ve got a cold, the doctor won’t give you antibiotics because it won’t help you.

    • Photo: Juan Ortiz

      Juan Ortiz answered on 11 Jun 2016:


      Nothing to say about this question!! Danna, Jonathan and Lindsay have covered everything. I just want to clarify that diseases can be caused by 3 different types of microbes: bacteria, fungus or viruses. Antibiotics only can kill bacteria, so they can only cure diseases caused by them. Most bacteria don’t cause diseases and some of them are even useful for us. For example to make vinegar or yogurts. Fungus can also be harmless or useful for us. For instance, the yeast used to make bread is a fungus. Viruses however, are always harmful for animals, humans, plants or even for other microbes like bacteria or fungus. Wicked beings!! :O

    • Photo: Daniela Lobo

      Daniela Lobo answered on 16 Jun 2016:


      Good question, Dalj!
      As the other said, antibiotics destroy bacteria, but not virus.
      Antibiotics are a type of antimicrobials, which is the more general term for something that kills microbes (bacteria, some fungi, viruses,…).

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