Question: hi, i want to know if it might one day be possible to have aa pill or drug that coud defend against all viral and bacterial infections. i know it might not be possible to predict this but what is you personal opinion on the subject?

Mark Travis answered on 14 Jun 2010:

That would be great wouldn’t it? But I think the chances are very slim. Viruses and bacteria are very different organisms, so medicines to deal with them target very different things. It may be more realistic to try and make ‘super’ drugs that target all viruses or all bacteria- but again, they are all subtly different so this would be very difficult to do. You never know what science will bring in the next century, but based on current knowledge the chances of a super-pill are low.