This brochure is a copy of an American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Public Service Brochure.
Sore throat is one symptom of an array of different medical disorders.
The most important difference between viruses and bacteria is that bacteria respond well to antibiotic treatment, but viruses do not. When a stuffy-runny nose, sneezing, and generalized aches and pains accompany the sore throat, it is probably caused by one of the hundreds of known viruses. These are highly contagious and cause epidemics in a community, especially in the winter. The body cures itself of a viral infection by building antibodies that destroy the virus, a process that takes about a week. Sore throats accompany other viral infections such as measles, chicken pox, whooping cough, and croup.