This article is about the aqueous solution. For the gas, see hydrogen chloride. Hydrochloric acid is a corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. A colorless, highly pungent solution of hydrogen chloride (HCl) in water, when it reacts with an organic base it forms a hydrochloride salt.
Bacteria are intercellular organisms (i.e. they live in-between cells); whereas viruses are intracellular organisms (they infiltrate the host cell and live inside the cell). They change the host cell's genetic material from its normal function to producing the virus itself.
While bacterial and viral infections often share the same symptoms, they are two very different types of pathogens. A bacterium is a single-celled organism that which causes illness when ingested. Unlike viruses, bacteria can grow on the food they contaminate. Most foodborne illnesses come from bacteria.