Mr. Iyer had cold and throat infection. Doctor prescribed an antibiotic.
(i) Which pathogens could have caused the infection?
(ii) What is the mode of action of antibiotics?
Mr. Iyer recovered from cold but he still had throat infection. Would the doctor continue the antibiotic further? State yes or no giving reason.
(i) Cold is commonly caused by virus while soar throat can be due to bacterial infection or allergy.
(ii) Antibiotics act on bacteria and kill them by inhibiting their metabolic reactions (e.g. cell wall formation, ribosome functioning).
Yes, the doctor can continue the antibiotic for 3-4 days more because bacterial sore throat takes about 10 days to heal.