Can Viral and Bacterial infections work as a sort of team in the body?

Question

If someone has a bacterial and viral infection at the same time and recieves drugs for the bacterial infection only.As the bacterial symptoms disappear so too can the viral symptoms . Can one be somehow linked to the other?

Answer 1

Viruses and bacteria are different life form, its like comparing a monkey and a goat. They have similarities but are different species.
It is possible to have both a virus and a bacterial infection at the same time but antibiotics will only work on the bacteria. they would have no effect on the viral infection. With the bacterial infectured treated the patient woiuld still show symptoms of the viral infection. Viral infections are usually less severe and self limiting;

Answer 2

The immune response to foreign bodies consists of a fine balance of the Th1 (fights against viruses, intracellular bacteria, eg: M. tuberculosis) and the Th2 (against extracellular bacteria eg: S. aureus) immune response. If your body is fighting, for example, a viral infection, it will create an unbalance and predispose you to other infections. Having both systems under stress will result in further immunosupression and predisposition to other pathogenic entities. This is what I remember from my Immunology classes, if you need more help `Medical Microbiology` by C. Mims is a good reference book to start with.

Answer 3

Yes, indirectly, due to the fact that they are both comsuming a limited resource, your immune system. A virus/virus example would be the appearance of cold sores that represent the eruption of an infection held in check by your immune system (Herpes, type I) after you're infected with another virus (common cold).

Answer 4

I guess the best example of this would be HIV and TB.

A person with HIV is much more likely to develop active TB, whilst an HIV+ person with active TB is more likely to have accelerated progression to clinical AIDS.

As for treatment, treatment of either would simply help reduce the strain on the immune system, which MAY speed up recovery/reduce complications from the other.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Drugs for bacteria have no effect on viruses. They are only linked to each other in the fact that they both can make you sick (bacteria and viruses).

Answer 6

remember, many viruses actually attack the (good) bacteria in your body...antibiotics kills all bacteria, regardless of "good" or "bad"...along with the viruses infecting them