Submitted by celo753 t3_10ihsiu in askscience
We have a million different antibiotics options available in the market. And whenever someone gets a bacterial infection, we pretty much always treat it with antibiotics.
But there are only a handful of antivirals available, and even then, 99% of viral infections I’ve seen are treated by medicating the symptoms and getting bed rest until your body itself takes care of the virus.
Why are antibacterials so common and widely used, while antivirals are basically unseen? Is it something to do with their effectiveness, or how hard it is to manufacture them?