When we have a bacterial infection, we can take antibiotics to treat it. However

Question

When we have a bacterial infection, we can take antibiotics to treat it. However, when we have a viral infection, such as the common cold, there are no such treatments to get rid of the virus; only medications to treat the symptoms. In the week 2 discussion, you thought about potential targets for novel antibiotics for bacteria, being sure that the drug will affect the bacteria only and not the human cells. Why is it so difficult to develop a drug that specifically targets viruses? When answering this question, keep in mind the similarities and differences between viruses and human cells and also the viral life cycle.

Explanation / Answer

Virus's do not have their own protein synthesising / metabolic machinery. They use the host's protein synthesising machinery to synthesise their own protein and nucleic acid. Any drug aimed against viruses will therefore be potentially harmful for the host. Therefore, it is difficult to develop drugs against viruses. Treatments can be done based only on symptoms.

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