Bacteria vs viruses | What are the differences? - Doctor Explains

This video is for all you that ever asked the question; what is the difference between a virus and a bacteria? As both can cause quite similar common infections, I can see where all the confusion is coming from.
I already made several videos on different antibiotics and antibiotic resistance. If you are interested you can find those in the playlist here:
   • Everything on Antibiotics?!  

What is a virus?
A virus is a submicroscopic agent, meaning they are so small they can’t be seen with a normal microscope. They are between 20-300nm and there are more than 6000 different species of viruses and millions of different types.
One of it’s remarkable features is that it not really considered “a form of life”. Like animals, plants or bacteria. A virus resembles a living organism in the way that is posses genes (which is it’s genetic code). A virus can evolve by natural selection and it can reproduce (it creates copies of itself through self-assembly).
However a virus misses some of the basic characteristic every other form of life has; it does not have it’s own metabolism (it always requires a host to reproduce) and it doesn’t have a cellular structure (like a cell wall). This already explains some of the biggest differences between viruses and a bacteria.

How is a Virus build?
It is surrounded by a protective coat of proteins, called a capsid or nucleocapsid. After entering a host cell the virus will also be covered with an Envelope. Which is made up from the cell wall of the host-cell. And in the protective coat, the nucleocapsid, the genetic information of the virus is stored. This can be DNA or RNA which is a simpler form to store genetic information.

What is a Bacteria?
Bacteria are microorganisms of a few micrometers (which makes them about 1000x bigger than viruses). They exist in many shapes; spheres, rods, spirals.
Interestingly bacteria were among the first life forms to appear at earth, as different types of bacteria adapted to survive in almost any circumstance; in soil, in the depths of the ocean and even close to radioactive waste. This maybe explains why there are so many bacteria everywhere.

We need bacteria!
One other mayor difference is that viruses mainly cause symptoms when infecting us or any other life-form. However nearly all animal life (like we humans) depend on certain bacteria.
We humans have bacteria in our intestines which help us to digest our food and we have bacteria on our skin which play a roll in our immune defence of our skin. So even we humans depend on some harmless bacteria.

How is a Bacteria build?
Bacteria are surrounded by a capsule and cell membrane; which is the outer layer. Inside the cell they have some organelles, which can be seen as an organs. The cell also contains the genetic material of the bacteria, which it needs to reproduce. And lastly bacteria can have a flagellum, which is a fin.

Treatment and prevention.
Viruses are often hard to treat. In some cases the virus can be treated with anti-viral drugs. However in most cases vaccination is the best treatment options as it provides immunity.
Now for a bacterial infection it is a different story, as bacteria often can be treated with antibiotics.

Disclaimer: this video and the comments are meant purely informational! This is not medical advice! If you are looking for medical advice always contact your own doctor. -

Literature:
1: Slonczewski JL. Foster JW. (2013). Microbiology : an Evolving Science (Third ed.). New York: WW Norton. 82.
2: Sears CL. (2005). A dynamic partnership: celebrating our gut flora. Anaerobe. 11 (5): 247–51.
3: Mahy WJ. Regenmortel MH. (2009). Desk Encyclopedia of General Virology. Oxford: Academic Press. 26.

The images in this video are used for educational purposes only.

Music:
1. Fredji, Happy Life, Music promoted by Vlog No Copyright Music.
2: Erik Lund, Summertime, Music promoted by Vlog No Copyright Music.

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Books I used In Medical School:
Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry Seventh Edition, https://amzn.to/2PFGidh
Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology 14th Edition, https://amzn.to/3inL6jM
Human Anatomy & Physiology (12th Edition), https://amzn.to/2DHlHCT
Oxford Handbook of Clinical Specialties, https://amzn.to/3fU854s
Oxford Handbook of Emergency Medicine, https://amzn.to/31LfMVg
Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine, https://amzn.to/3ky73hZ
Janeway's Immunobiology, https://amzn.to/3gLZW3e
Atlas of Human Anatomy (Netter Basic Science), https://amzn.to/3afFe9c
Netter's Anatomy Flash Cards, https://amzn.to/2XSAMIN
The House of God, S. Shem, https://amzn.to/31I7HAU

Gear I use:
Camera: Canon EOS M50: https://amzn.to/33SNMSn
Microphone: Boya Lavalier Microphone: https://amzn.to/3aggLkc
Microphone: Rode VideoMicPro: https://amzn.to/3amCmrh
Computer: Apple Macbook Pro: https://amzn.to/33PDEtu