Antibiotics are drugs used to treat infections caused by bacteria. They only target the cell structures present in bacteria. Viruses are structurally different from bacteria. They live and replicate inside cells (which may be human, animal, or even bacterial) as they cannot multiply outside of the host cells. Some antibiotics disrupt bacterial cell walls, and others inhibit their protein synthesis. Viruses don’t have cell walls, and they depend on the host (human or animal cells) for protein synthesis.[1]
Currently only some viral infections can be successfully treated with antiviral drugs. Examples are the varicella-zoster virus (which causes chicken pox and shingles) and the hepatitis C virus. For other viruses, like hepatitis B and HIV, we have drugs that do not kill them but can suppress them, make them less harmful for the patient, and prevent them spreading to others.
There are, however, many vaccines against specific viruses. Vaccines stimulate the body’s immune system to produce antibodies specific for a particular virus. These antibodies recognize the virus in the body and inactivate it before it can cause disease. The best way to help prevent diseases like measles and rabies is with a vaccine.
Check out these videos about virus:
Viruses and Bacteria: What’s the difference and who cares anyway?- Plain and simple
References
1 Carson C.&Roper R. Medical Xpress (2020, May 08). Why are there so many drugs to kill bacteria, but so few to kill tackle viruses? Retrieved from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-05-drugs-bacteria-tackle-viruses.html