What is the difference between a viral and bacterial infection?

A virus is a tiny capsule that has genetic material in it. It actually invades bodies' cells and then makes the bodies' cells create more virus. It's actually protected, because it is inside one of our own cells. That's why antibiotics don't work for that. What you can do with a bacterial infection is actually a full size cell, and so that's why we can treat those with antibiotics. Bacterial infections can be very serious. E. coli, staph, strep, all of those are examples of bacteria. Where viruses can cause things like colds, flus, warts, other things like that, but treatment is much more difficult.