Why do antibiotics not work against viruses?

• A. They target bacterial processes like cell wall synthesis, which viruses do not have
• B. They kill viruses by inhibiting viral replication
• C. They boost the immune response
• D. They only work in the presence of bacteria

Answer: (A)

Antibiotics are designed to disrupt features that bacteria possess but viruses do not. For example, many antibiotics block the synthesis of the bacterial cell wall, a structure that viruses don’t have. Other antibiotics target bacterial ribosomes or specific bacterial metabolic pathways, but viruses don’t carry their own ribosomes or perform those bacterial processes; they rely on the host cell’s machinery instead. Because these targets aren’t present in viruses, antibiotics can’t interfere with viral replication. Drugs that do affect viruses are antivirals that target viral enzymes or entry steps, not antibiotics. In practice, antibiotics might be used to treat other bacterial infections that occur alongside a viral illness, but they don’t treat the virus itself.