I’m sure we’ve all heard about bacteria and viruses at least once before. They’re both known to get you sick and we do our best to avoid them, right? Washing your hands, wearing a mask, staying home when you’re sick, we do all these things to reduce the spread of germs like bacteria and viruses.

But even though they can both make you feel sick, bacteria and viruses are really different! For instance, all bacteria are living creatures. They’re unicellular, meaning they’re made of one single cell, but nonetheless they’re alive. Viruses however, aren’t living at all. Let’s find out what other differences there are!

Now, when it comes to bacteria, we already know they’re alive. All bacteria are classified as “prokaryotes,” which is a type of cell. Prokaryotes, like bacteria, all have genetic material (DNA), but it isn’t enclosed in a specific area. The only thing that holds bacterial DNA is the cell’s wall, which is made of peptidoglycan. This cell wall helps distinguish the different types of bacteria, and it’s also extremely tough and helps protect a bacterium. Other common features of bacteria include “pili,” which are like little feet that help them stick to things; and “flagella,” which are like tails that help them move. There are a lot of misconceptions about bacteria, the most popular being that all bacteria make you sick. The truth is, less than one percent of all bacteria can cause sickness in people! Actually, we couldn’t survive without certain kinds of bacteria, like the ones that live in our digestive systems. Still, it’s a good idea to be cautious; some examples of bacteria-caused diseases are tuberculosis, strep throat, and tetanus.

Okay, we’ve talked about bacteria. Now let’s get on to the viruses! Remember when I said they weren’t actually living organisms? It’s true! Viruses are just free-floating genetic material (either DNA or RNA) that’s enclosed in a hard protein exterior called a capsid. Viruses are extremely small, a lot smaller than bacteria, but they can cause a lot of damage. Now the reason viruses aren’t actually considered living is because they cannot survive on their own. The only way they can sustain themselves at all is by entering a host cell (like one of our own cells), and infecting it. Viruses infect cells by corrupting them with their own genetic material. Eventually, the host cell becomes like a virus factory, reproducing the original virus’ genetic material until it explodes and dies (a process called lysis). This can be very dangerous for the body, so avoiding viruses at all costs is a good idea (pretty much all of them are bad for you). Examples of viral diseases include the common cold, the flu, pneumonia, and of course, COVID-19.

There are many more differences between viruses and bacteria, but at least now you know how to differentiate between them! I encourage you to go further and explore more about these kinds of germs and how to protect yourself against them. And when you do, make sure to share your findings with others!