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The answer is no. Viruses are not affected by antibiotics. As always, do your research and you will find that the CDC agrees. [related links]
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What are antibiotics and what are they used for?
Antibiotics are medicines that cure infections. They have no effect on viruses.
How does the HIV avoid the host antibiotics?
It has nothing to do with viruses unfortunately, and viruses are clever enough to escape from such drugs.
What is the difference between and antiviral drug and an antibiotic drug?
No. Antivirals work to limit the reproduction of viruses, and antibiotics work to kill bacteria. Antivirals do not kill bacteria, and antibiotics do not kill viruses.
Are bacterial infections more susceptible to drugs than viruses?
Do you mean antibiotics, which only work on bacteria, or do you mean antiviral drugs, which only work on viruses. Not really, as bacteria are becoming very resistant to all antibiotics and some are becoming untreatable. Viruses mutate so rapidly that drugs become useless in time and more need be discovered.
What are some limitations of antibiotics?
One thing is that antibiotics cannot kill viruses, as viruses are DNA structures which enter the cells in your body in order to duplicate, however antibiotics cannot enter into the cells, and can therefore not stop the virus.
How do you treat a sulfa sensitive patient for cold?
Sulfa drugs are usually used to treat bacterial infections, not viral infections like a cold. So no sulfa drugs are needed for sulfa-sensitive patients with viral infections like the common cold or flu. There is no equivalent to antibiotics that are used to kill bacteria that are for treating viruses. Bacteria can be killed and antibiotics, like sulfa drugs, are what can do that. Viruses are not living organisms, so they can't be killed. They can be made inactive, but that is possible only when your immune system attacks and gets rid of them, there are no drugs to do that. See the related question below for more information about treating a cold.
Why disease cause by virus cannot be treated with antibiotics?
antibiotics have a purpose to kill only bacteria.Only for few viral diseases drugs have been found.Virus cannot be killed by antibiotics but when there is a viral attack our immune system is severely comprimised hence we take antibiotics to prevent any bacterial diseases these include hiv aids and flu
Which viruses do antibiotics kill?
Antibiotics are the chemicals produced by microorganisms to inhibit the growth of other microorganisms. most of the antibiotics are produced by fungi. Very few are produces by bacteria. For example the antibiotics Monobactum, Bacitracin and Polymixin B are produced by bacteria. They almost all act against other bacteria and not viruses. ( Amphotericin B acts against fungi and is too toxic.) In fact you do not have good drugs against viruses and then you conveniently avoid to talk about it.
Why can antibiotics be useful in treating bacterial diseases but not in treating viral diseases?
Antibiotics kill the bacteria but not the people by affecting parts of the bacterial system that humans do not share. Viruses use the person's own systems to do most functions and so not have the same or as many targets for the drugs. There are some antiviral drugs but now as many as antibiotics.
Why antibiotics can be usful in treating bacterial diseases but not in treating viral diseases?
Antibiotics kill the bacteria but not the people by affecting parts of the bacterial system that humans do not share. Viruses use the person's own systems to do most functions and so not have the same or as many targets for the drugs. There are some antiviral drugs but now as many as antibiotics.
What would you not use in treating a virus?
Antibiotics are not effective against viruses, only against bacteria. Antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu are effective against most forms of H1N1 and many other flu viruses
Are viral infections or bacterial infections treated with antibiotics?
Antibiotics are only for suscpetible bacteria. Antiviral meds, are for susceptible viruses. Viruses and bacteria are two different things. "Antibiotic" literally means "against life". Although they replicate inside living cells, viruses are not living things, and thus not affected by antibiotic drugs. If you have a bad cold or flu, and your doctor prescribes antibiotics, change doctors; you're wasting your money. Although one often hears phrases like "killed virus" vaccine, it means the virus' ability to replicate inside a living cell has been inactivated ("killed") before being injected. But the body still reacts to it as though it were "live", and produces antibodies.
