Why can't you prescribe antibiotics to treat a viral infection???

A virus lack the metabolic machinery common to other microorganisms

Explanation:

A virus is an ultramicroscopic particle capable of causing disease. It differs from other disease-causing organisms like bacteria, nematodes etc, because it has no metabolic system of its own but relies on its host system for survival and replication.

Hence, it is difficult for antibiotics to target and destroy viruses without harming patients, rather antiviral drug are prescribed against viruses