Bacteria are many times larger than viruses.
There are over 80 different types of pneumococci based on the different sugars that form their outer coating or capsule. These different types of pneumococci are called serotypes. The capsule also helps the pneumococcus to avoid being eaten by white blood cells, a process called phagocytosis. Pneumococci tend to grow in pairs and chains and are lancet or bullet shaped. Pneumococci can also be stained with various dyes which allow them to be seen under a regular light microscope found in most microbiology laboratories.