Difference Between Bacteria and Viruses
Every one of us believes that virus and bacteria are harmful germs. Common man put both of them in the same category. They think that both of them are the same and equally cause infection in human body. This is wrong to perceive them equal. Both of them are different. We should understand the features of both of them so as to avoid their harmful effect or infection. They both are different infectious agents. Let us discuss the features of both of them so as to know about the difference between them.
Bactria is found in many sizes and shapes. They are unicellular organisms. Viruses on the other hand have no cells and therefore they are not living things. However they have genes and can evolve. They have some of the properties of living things but cannot move themselves. They do not metabolize nutrients. But they produce waste and excrete it.
Bacteria are a unicellular organism. It has RNA and DNA which contain genetic code. They can reproduce and live independently. On the other hand Viruses are intracellular organisms. They need a host to multiply. The host may be a plant or an animal. They live in a cell of the host. They have the capacity of changing the genetic code of a cell. Viruses give birth to baby viruses in the cell and finally the cell bursts and they newly born viruses enter other cells and multiply. Thus the process goes on until the whole of the body of an animal or a plant become infectious. Viruses are not in themselves living organism. They only have DNA and RNA. They have proteins which act upon the information stored in them. But it happens only when a virus enters a living cell. On the other hand, bacteria are living beings which reproduce independently and can survive in many environments.
Most of the bacteria are not harmful for human beings. There are types of bacteria which are useful for us in certain ways. Some bacteria in our body kill parasite and do not harm the body. On the other hand all viruses are harmful for us. They are always undesirable in our body while certain type of bacteria is desirable in our body as they break up organic matter in our body. Harmful bacteria can be killed by anti biotic but viruses cannot be killed as they are not living beings. Their reproduction can be slowed down. There is the difference regarding their size. Bacteria are big in size while virus is smaller in size.