Introduction:
Understanding how viruses differ from bacteria apex is crucial for accurate diagnosis and treatment. While bacteria are single-celled organisms that reproduce independently, viruses require a host cell to replicate. Knowing these differences helps in choosing the right approach to manage infections effectively.
What is bacteria?
Bacteria are prokaryotes which are the smallest simplest and perhaps oldest form of cells that do not possess a nucleus and hence have the freed floating genetic material.These are microorganisms which are single cellular in nature and may be rod shaped or spiral or spherical.
There are two types of bacteria It divides into two broad categories that are gram negative and gram positive.The main and crucial difference is that Gram negative bacteria have an additional layer outer membrane. It is in a way an added layer of protection that initially makes it more difficult for the antibiotics to reach inside and kill Gram-negative bacteria and secondly it puts Gram-negative bacteria at a higher risk of developing resistance against antibiotics.
Lots of species of bacteria thrive in the soil they physically live with parts of plant roots to perform roles such as fixation of nitrogen or fungicides. Sulphur fixing bacteria are the thermophilic (heat requiring) organisms that fixed the sulphur to form sulphide as energy source for photosynthesis in water sediment or organically enriched water.
Over 99% of all bacterial infections are fatal and diseases that are bacterial in origin have slain more than half of all people that have ever existed on our planet. Till now the bacterial infections have set off major pandemics as to what caused the bubonic plague that is believed to have killed fifty to sixty per cent of the population of Europe during Black Death in the 14th century.
The extent of bacterial reproduction is mainly through binary fission. Its mode of reproduction is binary fission which involves an actual replication of a bacterial DNA sideways such that each of the two separated DNA will be encased in a newly developed cell wall forming two new bacterial cells. The period it takes to double this rate ranges from 20 minutes to one hour.
Because of the short generation time mutations can appear and evolve rapidly and are the basis for sudden changes in bacteria, such as in the case of antibiotic resistance.
What are viruses?
A virus is an organization of various sorts of particles; it comprises genetic materials either in a single or double helix form of DNA, RNA, a protein covering as well as an envelope formed out of fat or not.
They can therefore vary in the shapes and manners in which they are laid to accommodate certain forms, say, spacecraft spirals, cylinder ball shapes and the like.
COVID 19 virus is an example of an enveloped virus with a layer of fat and it is therefore easy to kill by washing with soap because soap easily breaks the fatty layer.
Viruses are even more of a grey area because they cannot replicate by themselves (as bacteria can in their case) hence are not classified as living but then can last on surfaces for sometime.
Viruses have to get inside a living cell (for example a human cell) to be able to reproduce, once inside forces the cell to produce a new virus.
They are known to cause illnesses like flu, Herpes simplex virus, Ebola, Zika and of course the seemingly invincible common cold.
Viruses are organisms that prefer certain hosts to the extreme that most viruses are selective in the fact that they will not even infect people.There are some viruses that attack only bacteria, some only attack plants and many only attack animals.
However a virus can mutate to rise into animals and from animals directly into human beings.This often happens with influenza for instance bird flu or swine flu that emerged from birds and pigs shortly and affected human beings. Finally, most authorities agree that SARS-CoV-2 the virus that gives us COVID-19 most likely originated in bats.
The life cycle of a virus can be divided into the following stages will depend on the stage of viral amplification that is the process that includes entry of the virus into the host cell replication of the viral genome synthesis of new viral proteins assembly of those viral proteins into new viruses and then release from the infected host cell whether through the destruction of the host cell or through budding off of the host cell membrane and ready to infect other cells.
Why is it so important to tell the difference?
Molecular tools are enhancing doctor’s capacity in a way of faster and easier determination of the viral or bacterial infections for instance the doctors are hoping that a patient could be tested at the GP’s surgery or in an emergency and be told immediately whether their illness is caused by virus or bacteria.
It is essential to understand a viral and bacterial infection to provide the right remedy to patients and not misuse antibiotics that in turn results in formation of superbugs.
It is also why you should not be surprised that your doctor will not give you antibiotics if you have the flu for instance which is a viral illness.
IMB researchers are in the process of developing strategies that would enable them to detect bacteria from infections within hours if not minutes. This at the moment takes a couple of days.
What distinguishes bacteria from viruses?
Here these viruses and bacteria are dissimilar in some ways even if they have a small size. Virologists like to point out that when compared to bacteria which are single cellular organisms that contain highly developed organelles, viruses are a lot smaller in size and do not contain a cell. However bacteria are able to self-reproduce through binary fission but viruses require a host cell in order to reproduce.
What distinguishes bacteria from viruses in terms of their host specificity?
Viruses are often host specific and most of them readily infect only a few species of organic beings. For that matter bacteria are known to affect humans, animals, plants, and various more surroundings, thus can infect a larger host.
Bacterial and viral infections are often related
The terms bacteria and viruses are totally different but they share a link that connects them.
Patients with viral pneumonia, especially severe forms, present with an added bacterial pneumonia. This is well illustrated with COVID-19 whereby up to 50 percent of the hospitalized severe cases have developed bacterial infection. Therefore even COVID-19 which is caused by a virus antibiotics are vital especially in managing the bacterial infections that accompany the virus.
Given that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are fast becoming an international menace, a team of scientists at IBM is researching the surface activity of bacteria at molecular level and has learnt how these pathogens escape the human immune system. They are also interested in the production of new therapies to combat the antibiotics resistant bacteria as well as the support offered to Researchers globally to discover new antibiotics.
Now researchers are on the verge of inventing new preventive cures, biochemical indicators and vaccines to outdo and thwart these invisible pathogens from invading our planet.
Conclusion:
It is crucial to differentiate viruses from bacteria and bacteria from viruses because their treatments are fundamentally different. Bacteria are prokaryotic, produce their own food and are single cells while viruses have to actively enter the host cells to reproduce. It makes a difference when it comes to right diagnosis and utilization of antibiotics which will reduce the cases of resistance and enhance patient management.