Medicines for bacteria and viruses

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This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. See more conditions. Germs: Understand and protect against bacteria, viruses and infection. Products and services. Germs: Understand and protect against bacteria, viruses and infection Germs — Learn how germs work and what you can do to protect yourself. By Mayo Clinic Staff. Open pop-up dialog box Types of infectious agents Close. Types of infectious agents Infectious agents come in many shapes and sizes.

Thank you for subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information. Sorry something went wrong with your subscription Please, try again in a couple of minutes Retry. Show references Overview of bacteria. Merck Manual Professional Version. Accessed Sept. Levinson W, et al. Bacteria compared with other microorganisms.

McGraw-Hill Education; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Kimberlin DW, et al. Red Book Online. American Academy of Pediatrics; Goering RV, et al. Mims' Medical Microbiology and Immunology. Elsevier; Nonpharmaceutical interventions NPIs. At home: Flu prevention. But growing antibiotic resistance is curbing the effectiveness of these drugs.

Taking an antibiotic as directed, even after symptoms disappear, is key to curing an infection and preventing the development of resistant bacteria. There are several different classes of drugs in the antiviral family, and each is used for specific kinds of viral infections. Unlike antibacterial drugs, which may cover a wide spectrum of pathogens, antiviral medications are used to treat a narrower range of organisms.

Antiviral drugs are now available to treat a number of viruses, including influenza , human immunodeficiency virus HIV , herpes, and hepatitis B and C. Like bacteria, viruses mutate over time and develop resistance to antiviral drugs. Modern medicine needs new kinds of antibiotics and antivirals to treat drug-resistant infections.

But the pipeline of new drugs is drying up. The last new class of antibiotics to be approved was the lipopeptides e. Major pharmaceutical companies have limited interest in dedicating resources to the antibiotics market because these short-course drugs are not as profitable as drugs that treat chronic conditions and lifestyle-related ailments such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol.

Antibiotic research and development is also expensive, risky, and time consuming. Return on that investment can be unpredictable, considering that resistance to antibiotics develops over time and eventually makes them less effective.

Products and services. What's the difference between a bacterial infection and a viral infection? Answer From Pritish K. Tosh, M. Thank you for subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information. Sorry something went wrong with your subscription Please, try again in a couple of minutes Retry.

Show references Antimicrobial drug resistance. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Accessed Sept. Questions about bacteria, viruses, and antibiotics.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed July 11, Antimicrobial resistance. World Health Organization. See also Antibiotic use in agriculture Antibiotics: Are you misusing them?

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