• Question: What is it that makes diseases caused by viruses and bacteria hard to treat?

    Asked by EvelynT to Ben, Lizzie, Francis, Max, Sian on 12 Mar 2018. This question was also asked by PBB.
    • Photo: Sian Richardson

      Sian Richardson answered on 12 Mar 2018:

      Viruses and bacteria replicate much faster than our cells do. Therefore when your body comes up with a strategy for fighting the virus or bacteria or in some case drugs. The bacteria/viruses can change and evolve into something that your body doesn’t recognise anymore resulting in disease

    • Photo: Ben Mulhearn

      Ben Mulhearn answered on 13 Mar 2018:

      Some bacateria are also very slow growing, which means they don’t cause any immediate damage and therefore are not detected by our immune system. One of these can be TB. Viruses enter into our own cells and can therefore sometimes ‘hide’ from the immune system for some time before being detected.

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