Viral Infection vs Bacterial Infection
Posted by in Bacteria on July 1, 2011
Every infection that the human body is afflicted by is primarily caused by two sources – bacteria or viruses. Both these class of organisms are pathogens (dangerous microscopic organisms), and have the ability to cause some form of illness to human beings. Viruses are parasites, and as a result all viruses cause harm to the body, but bacteria are actually useful to the body as well. Only about 10% of the bacteria actually cause harm to the human body. Viral infection vs bacterial infections have many different strains and symptoms, and these differences are commonly noticed by specialists.
The infections caused by both sets of pathogens can escalate immensely if left untreated, but the fundamental differences between the two sets of organisms cause the differences between viral infection vs bacterial infections. Read more about infectious diseases.
What is Viral Infection?
Viruses are microscopic organisms that are parasitic in nature. What this means is that they are dormant when they exist by themselves in the air, but when they enter a host’s body they get active and begin multiplying and reproducing. Viruses unequivocally require a host in order to get active and reproduce, and share a symbiotic relationship with the host’s body. The strain that they generate on the host’s body produces an illness in the host, and this is the primary difference between viral infection vs bacterial infections. Learn more about parasites in the human body.
In human beings, the most vulnerable cells of the body that are prone to getting attacked by viruses are the mucous membrane cells. Since there is no protective skin surrounding these cells, they are easily attacked. Common colds, flu and various other viral infections are caused by the viruses attacking these mucous membranes. The following are the 4 basic types of viruses.
* Helical
* Enveloped
* Complex
* Icosahedral
Once a virus enters inside the body it becomes very hard for the body’s natural antibodies to locate and fight these viruses, as they hide themselves well behind various cells of the body. But once the infection starts spreading, antibodies are produced to combat these viruses, which eventually knock them out. Read the rest of this entry »
Bacteria Vs Virus
Posted by in Bacteria on July 1, 2011
Usually there are two types of germs which cause most infections, namely virus and bacteria. Bacteria vs virus is a very common confusion most of us have. Bacteria are unicellular microorganisms, which are typically few micrometers long and have many shapes, such as curved rods, spheres, rods, or spirals. The singular form of bacteria is bacterium. Viruses on the other hand are sub-microscopic particles, which are 10,000 times smaller than a bacteria. We will read about bacteria and virus differences in detail now.
Difference Between Bacteria and Virus
To understand the bacteria vs virus debate, a clear understanding about both bacteria and virus is essential, which is presented in the next two paragraphs.
Bacteria
Bacteria are single-celled living prokaryotic organisms, which can be found virtually anywhere and everywhere in air, in the soil, water, in and on plants and animals. All the bacteria are surrounded by a cell wall and can reproduce independently. There are two types of bacteria found. The good bacteria and the bad bacteria. The beneficial bacteria carry out many useful functions like making vitamins, breaking down garbage and also maintain our atmosphere. As a matter of fact, the human mouth is home to more than 500 species of bacteria, which we may have never thought of. Some of the bacteria which reside in the human body can prevent infections and produce useful elements like Vitamin K. Read on beneficial bacteria names. Bacteria present in the stomachs of cows and sheep help them to digest grass. Bacteria is also necessary for the production of yogurt, cheese and pickles. The infections caused due to bacteria are strep throat, urinary tract infections, most ear infections, some of the sinus infections, etc. Click to read on diseases caused by bacteria.
Virus
Virus is the smallest and tiniest of microbes, which are extremely small and are about 20 to 250 nanometers in size (one nanometer is one billionth of a meter). It consists of a small collection of genetic material, which is encased in a protective coat known as capsid. When the virus is present outside a living cell it is dormant, but when it is inside, it takes over the resources of the host cell and begins to reproduce more virus particles. They actually trigger the cells to engulf them and connect themselves to these cells and release their DNA into the cell. Then it takes over the machinery to reproduce and overrides the host cell’s normal function and shuts down the production of protein and directs the resources for new virus production. There are some viruses which insert their genetic material into the DNA of the host cell, where they begin to direct copying of their genes or simply lie asleep either for lifetime or for years. In either case, it is the host cell which does all the actual work, where the virus simply gives direction. You may want to read on characteristics of viruses.The diseases caused by viruses are AIDS, cancer, influenza, smallpox, etc. Read the rest of this entry »