Table of contents:
- The main difference between bacteria and viruses
- What are bacteria?
- Most bacteria do not cause disease, except ...
- What is a virus?
- Most viruses can cause disease
- Can you have both infections at once?
- Can you tell the difference between viral and bacterial infections?
- Symptoms of a bacterial infection
- Symptoms of a viral infection
- Differences in the treatment of viral and bacterial infections
- So, which infection is more dangerous?
Bacteria and viruses are common microorganisms that cause infectious diseases in humans. Sometimes, both infections can show the same signs. However, bacteria and viruses are genetically different so that the diseases they cause cannot be treated in the same way. In fact, what are the differences between the two and which is more dangerous between bacteria and viruses?
The main difference between bacteria and viruses
Although both are microorganisms, viruses and bacteria have different sizes, genetic components, and ways of life.
Viruses are smaller than bacteria and are parasitic. That is, the virus is only able to survive if it "rides" in the body of another living being. Meanwhile, bacteria have a higher adaptability in the outside environment.
In addition, not all types of bacteria will cause disease in humans. In fact, the presence of several types of bacteria is beneficial to humans.
What are bacteria?
Bacteria are microbes that belong to the prokaryote family. Bacteria have a thin but hard cell wall and a rubber-like membrane that protects the fluid inside the cell.
Bacteria can reproduce on their own, namely by division. The results of research on fossils state that bacteria have existed since 3.5 billion years ago.
Bacteria can live in a variety of environmental conditions, including extreme environments, such as very hot or very cold environments. So even in places where humans can't even live in such a highly radioactive environment.
Most bacteria do not cause disease, except …
In fact, only less than 1% of bacteria can cause disease. Most bacteria are actually needed by the human body, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus and Escherichia coli.
The important role of bacteria in the body is to help digest food, fight other microbial infections that cause disease, fight cancer cells, and provide beneficial nutrients.
Although some bacteria are harmless and are not bad for health, there are several types of bacteria that must be watched out for because they can cause infectious diseases.
Diseases caused by bacterial infections include:
- Sore throat
- Tuberculosis
- Cellulitis
- Tetanus
- Syphilis
- Urinary tract infection
- Bacterial meningitis
- Diphtheria
- Typhus
- Lyme disease
What is a virus?
Viruses are microbes that cannot live without attaching to their hosts. Viruses are also much smaller in size than bacteria. Every virus has genetic material, either RNA or DNA.
New viruses can reproduce themselves when attached to other living things.
When it enters the body, the virus will attack healthy cells and take over the supply of nutrients and oxygen to these cells. Furthermore, the virus will begin to multiply until finally the cells it is boarding die.
Not only damaging healthy cells, in some cases, viruses can also change normal cells into dangerous cells.
Most viruses can cause disease
In contrast to bacteria, most viruses cause disease. Viruses are also "picky" alias attack specific cells, for example, certain viruses attack cells in the pancreas, respiratory system, or blood.
Not only healthy cells in the body, viruses also attack bacteria. Diseases caused by infection include:
- Cold
- Flu
- Measles
- Chicken pox
- Hepatitis
- HIV / AIDS
- Mumps
- Ebola
- Dengue fever
- Polio
- Rubella
- COVID-19
Can you have both infections at once?
Apart from causing different diseases, bacteria and viruses can both cause a person to experience an infectious disease at the same time.
The reason is, in some cases it is quite difficult to recognize the difference whether the infectious disease is caused by a virus or bacteria, for example in meningitis, diarrhea, and pneumonia.
In addition, sore throats are also included in the list of conditions that can be caused by viruses or bacteria. Sore throat is not actually a disease, but a symptom that appears when you have certain diseases.
Types of viruses that cause flu and colds, as well as types of bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus group A can both cause sore throats.
In other cases, viral infections can cause secondary infections caused by bacteria. In the book Essence of Glycobiology, it is explained that this condition often occurs when an influenza infection triggers a sinus infection, ear or pneumonia caused by bacteria.
Can you tell the difference between viral and bacterial infections?
Viral and bacterial infections can show similar symptoms, especially when they both attack the same organ or body tissue.
The difference between viral and bacterial infections can be seen in the duration, symptoms of infection, and development of symptoms. In viral infections, symptoms are usually brief but acute, such as 10-14 days.
Meanwhile, the symptoms of a bacterial infection generally last longer than a viral infection, and worsen over time.
Here are a few differences between the symptoms caused by bacterial and viral infections.
Symptoms of a bacterial infection
The following are signs that often appear in bacterial infection:
- Runny nose
- Fever that continues to rise high
- Sometimes coughing
- Sore throat
- Ear pain
- Hard to breathe
Symptoms of a viral infection
The following are signs that often appear in a viral infection:
- Runny nose
- Sometimes nosebleeds
- Sometimes fever
- Coughs
- Sore throat (rare)
- Insomnia
However, knowing the difference between viral and bacterial infections through symptoms cannot determine with certainty the cause of the disease being experienced. You need to consult a doctor to determine whether the cause is a bacterial infection or a viral infection.
The doctor will check your signs, take a medical history, and examine physical signs. If necessary, doctors usually order blood tests or urine tests to confirm the diagnosis.
In addition, culture tests to identify the type of bacteria or virus that have infected you may also be done.
Differences in the treatment of viral and bacterial infections
Antibiotics are a common treatment for bacterial infections. The discovery of antibiotics to treat bacterial infections is one of the great discoveries in medical history.
However, if you take antibiotics continuously, the bacteria will "adapt" to the antibiotics so that the bacteria will be resistant to antibiotics.
In addition, antibiotics not only kill bacteria that cause disease, but also other bacteria that are good for your body.
This will lead to more serious illness. Today, many organizations prohibit the use of antibiotics if they are not really needed.
However, antibiotics do not work effectively against viruses. For some diseases, such as herpes, HIV / AIDS, and flu, antiviral drugs have been found for these diseases.
However, the use of antiviral drugs is often associated with the development of microbes that are resistant to other drugs.
So, which infection is more dangerous?
Until now, there is no scientific evidence that states that viruses or bacteria are more harmful to health. Both can be very dangerous, depending on the type and how much in the body.
However, when it comes to genetic differences, how they multiply, and the severity of symptoms, diseases caused by viral infections tend to be more difficult to cure than bacterial infections.
In addition, these microorganisms cannot be killed and their growth is stopped using antibiotics. Viruses can only be stopped growing with antiviral drugs. One type of antibiotic can be effective against many types of disease-causing bacteria, but this does not apply to antivirals.
In addition, the size of the virus, which can be up to 10 to 100 times smaller than that of bacteria, makes it more difficult for the infectious disease it causes to recover quickly.
The way the virus infects the body by taking over all the normal cells of the developing body also makes it difficult to stop.
However, that does not mean the bacteria are harmless. Bacterial infections can be difficult to treat if a person is resistant to antibiotics. Inappropriate use of antibiotics can make bacterial infections more difficult to treat.
However, since the early 20th century, vaccines were developed to combat infectious diseases caused by viruses and bacteria.
The use of vaccines itself has been shown to greatly reduce infectious diseases, such as smallpox, polio, measles, tuberculosis and chickenpox. Vaccines can also help prevent diseases such as flu, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and human papillomavirus (HPV).
