Antibiotic drugs treat a large degree of bacterial infections, but viral infections seem to be trickier to develop medicinal treatment for. Why?
In: Biology
The other posters already explained how viruses work and how bacteria work. I need to add that scientists think of a true broad spectrum antiviral as of a possible discovery; there still could be a mechanism common to different types of viruses that can be messed with to stop viruses from breeding and/or kill infected cells. If such a broad spectrum antiviral is discovered, it will become the antiviral equivalent of an antibiotic, which will be of immense benefit to mankind. It would be the proverbial cure to the common cold; other viruses currently considered very dangerous, such as the rabies virus, could also be treated by this drug. Current broad(ish) spectrum antivirals only target groups of similar viruses, while other antivirals are designed to fight a specific virus.
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