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Asked by 582chea to Angela, Robert, Sarah on 20 Nov 2014.
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Angela Stokes answered on 20 Nov 2014:
Hmmm – good question 582chea
There is no definitive answer as I guess it depends on which virus, bacteria or fungi and also on how physically well the person is who gets the infection.
Viruses cause many more diseases than bacteria or fungi and although there aren’t a huge number of anti-viral treatments, the body is fantastic at fighting viruses. When an anti-viral is used it doesn’t clear the virus from the body, usually it stops it from replicating. However, some viruses are not fought off and/or can be very serious. For example HIV and Ebola.
Fungal infections usually affect the skin and nails and can cause ringworm, athlete’s foot, other localised skin rashes and infections in and around nails. You can take anti-fungal medicines by mouth but more usually topical creams and lotions work well. fungal infections can be dangerous in people with a weak immune system such as people who have had chemotherapy for cancer.
Some bacteria can be helpful and protective to humans and live naturally in our bodies, particularly in the bowel. Other infections with certain bacteria can cause serious illnesses such as meningitis, pneumonia and tuberculosis but whilst these are serious often they can be treated with a course of antibiotics.
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Sarah Harris answered on 21 Nov 2014:
Like Angela said, it really depends on a lot of different factors, rather than just virus/bacteria/funghi. Viruses are notoriously difficult to treat through, as they are not affected by antibiotics at all, but even bacterial infections are getting harder to treat as they are becoming resistant to commonly used antibiotics (which is why they shouldn’t be used as a go-to treatment). Fungal infections can be pretty nasty too, and can be recurrent if it’s a good environment for the fungus to grow. What a delight!
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