• Question: What's the difference between bacteria and virus?

    Asked by H to Andres, Catherine, Darren, Ellie, Samantha on 12 Nov 2016.
    • Photo: Andres Olivares del Campo

      Andres Olivares del Campo answered on 12 Nov 2016:

      This is not my field but from what I understand, a bacteria is like a small organism which can either be “good” (like the ones in your intestines) or “bad” (like salmonella). In practice, these can be cured with antibiotics.

      However, viruses have no cell structure and need to live within a host, causing its illness. They are usually more difficult to cure and detect (e.g. HIV is a virus) as they sort of become part of you.

      You can see a picture of their differences here: http://www.microbiologyinfo.com/differences-between-bacteria-and-viruses/

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