Why are antibiotics not effective for viral disease?


Antibiotics are not effective for viral diseases because bacteria and viruses have different structures and mechanisms to survive and replicate.

Antibiotics are programmed to attack the cell wall of bacteria, while Viruses don't have any cell walls that can be attacked by antibiotics, rather, they are surrounded by a protective protein coat.

Bacteria attack the body's cells from the outside, while viruses move in, live in, and make copies of themselves in the body's cells.

Like bacteria, viruses can't reproduce on their own, rather, they attach themselves to healthy cells of the body, and reprogram those cells to make new viruses.

Vaccines and antiviral medications can slow down the reproductive cycle of viruses.

Updated on: 05-Jan-2023

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