Talk:Influenza

Featured article review needed

This is a once well-written 2006 Featured article that has not been maintained to WP:WIAFA standards since its main author stopped actively editing. Now at over 8,700 words of prose, it is approaching double the size that was originally vetted at FAC. It has taken on uncited text, listiness, short stubby sections, WP:CITATION OVERKILL, and in several places needs updating to reflect WP:MEDDATE. Statements throughout that are cited to old sources need to be checked, sample: In those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease vaccination reduces exacerbations;[124] it is not clear if it reduces asthma exacerbations.[125] Unless someone is willing and able to restore the article to WIAFA standards, it should be submitted for a Featured article review. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 17:17, 24 January 2021 (UTC)

I've never done FA stuff before but I can try to handle this article if no one else does. Virus taxonomy will likely be updated sometime in March or April, so I'll see what I can do before then. I prefer major edits when overhauling articles so if you don't see me editing here, then it doesn't mean that I'm not working on it. Is that fine? Velayinosu (talk) 03:50, 25 January 2021 (UTC)

A start would be removing that poorly sourced "Major modern influenza pandemics" transclusion. Graham Beards (talk) 08:27, 25 January 2021 (UTC)

@SandyGeorgia: With enough effort, I think this could be brought back to FA status, but it will take some work. We can start by updating the mask and hand washing ref, which someone has provided a more updated source for in the section above. X-Editor (talk) 06:29, 14 February 2021 (UTC)

It's been a month so I want to leave an update on my progress.

Signs and symptoms + Prognosis: Mostly done but I wrote much of these 2 sections together, so considerable work is needed here.

Signs and symptoms: Done unless new information is found.

Virology: Mostly done, just need to fix some minor things. Done unless new information is found.

Mechanism: Maybe the section with the most amount of work to be done.

Prevention: Done unless new information is found.

Diagnosis: Lots of information gathered that needs to be organized. Done unless new information is found.

Treatment: Same as Diagnosis. Lots of information gathered that needs to be organized.

Prognosis: Done unless new information is found.

Epidemiology: Done unless new information is found.

History: Done unless new information is found.

Society and culture: I don't think I've found enough information to write a section about this.

Research: I have 3 out of 4 potential paragraphs done.

Animals: Done unless new information is found.

Velayinosu (talk) 04:27, 1 March 2021 (UTC) Updated a week later. Velayinosu (talk) 03:09, 8 March 2021 (UTC)

@SandyGeorgia: @Graham Beards: There are probably minor things that can be changed, but I am done with major edits. The article should be much higher quality than it was before. Velayinosu (talk) 01:21, 29 March 2021 (UTC)

Thanks for the ping; on my list, and I will start reviewing as I have time. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 01:45, 29 March 2021 (UTC)

@Graham Beards and Velayinosu: I looked this over, and appreciate the fine work by Velayinosu. Could we hold off here for now, and turn our attention to whether there are outstanding issues after Graham has finished work on Menstrual cycle at Wikipedia:Featured article review/Menstrual cycle/archive2? That is, ping me again when it is time to take these up. Thanks for the quality work, Velayinosu! SandyGeorgia (Talk) 18:44, 29 March 2021 (UTC)

@Graham Beards and Ozzie10aaaa: or anyone else watching this page (pardon the ping, you two just came to mind as virus-interested folks), any chance you'd be willing to read through this article and give some thoughts on whether this article meets the FA criteria, and suggestions for further improvements (if any)? It's still on the URFA folks' list, but if we're pleased with the article's current state we can cross it off for them. Kudos again to Velayinosu for all the hard work. Thanks all. Ajpolino (talk) 03:58, 20 July 2021 (UTC)

Flu a function, a reaction of health

Sorry, just saying, please: maybe my fast translation to german may be wrong or/and I am just confused about this: "This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Influenza article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject."
Flu, Influenza, I am told these days, is a reaction to: anything. A reaction of/for health, but NOT the (a) desease itself.
So it is a function of health.
--Visionhelp (talk) 16:44, 27 March 2021 (UTC)

In English, "flu" is an abbreviation for influenza, which is a disease caused by viruses. Graham Beards (talk) 18:09, 27 March 2021 (UTC)

So it is not the body, (with) the immune defence, which does react with flu to against the virus effects, the attack ?
Visionhelp (talk) 03:03, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

Your English is difficult to understand, but I think you are asking are the symptoms of 'flu caused by the body's immune response (the reaction to interferon for example) and not directly by the virus. The answer is yes, and this is the case with many viral infections. At its worse, this can be a cytokine storm.-Graham Beards (talk) 05:07, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

The flu as the (health) reaction by the body´s immune response, calling it symptom does hide this. The virus attacks, and the body reacts. As health react, for healing.
Visionhelp (talk) 08:31, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

The effects of the immune response are a symptom of influenza. Graham Beards (talk) 09:04, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

A FAST (re)search A source: "Certain bodily mechanisms activate against infection and are to blame for the symptoms" from https://steptohealth.com/how-the-flu-affects-the-body/
Visionhelp (talk) 11:11, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

First, that's not a reliable source, but it is saying pretty much what I said. The effects of the immune response on the body are a symptom of influenza. Second, how is this discussion improving the article? Graham Beards (talk) 11:19, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

Support, changing the point of view. (To healing, with.)
Handling a ´symptom´ as a healthy (reaction) work (where it is), turns the work, which has to be done: is the body´s work (and also the mind´s) of/to the attack to the body.
Only many wordings´ and statements´ sources, which ´only´ in the tenor of the statements is to extract, but, and to shorten:

• Emotions and illness - National Institutes of Health
  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11430288/
  
• Disease, illness, sickness, health, healing and wholeness ...
  https://mh.bmj.com/content/26/1/9
• Illness beliefs, responses & outcomes: Applied health ...
  http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/documents/829/PHL%20Session4%20Lecture1%20VM.pdf
• The concept of illness behaviour
  (pdf) https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033291700002476
  

Visionhelp (talk) 14:02, 11 August 2021 (UTC)

I can't understand you and I think there is little to be achieved by continuing this discussion. Graham Beards (talk) 14:09, 11 August 2021 (UTC)

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A hard word, so fast after my last publishing now. Labeling it ´not understanding´ but despite ´little to be achieved´. But OK. My support does end here. Thanks the interesst.
Visionhelp (talk) 14:24, 11 August 2021 (UTC)

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"little to be achieved" is a polite way of saying "a waste of time". Graham Beards (talk) 14:32, 11 August 2021 (UTC)

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I do understand Your english "little to be achieved". And touching in into the appearing my text (comment), even text-end, is just un-kind. Sorry. Let us stop it here, please. (There is more interessting to do.)
Visionhelp (talk) 11:29, 13 August 2021 (UTC)

Fatality rate numbers

Are the fatality rate numbers correct? See here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File_talk:InfluenzaCaseMortality.svg .

No mention of the 2021-2022 flu season yet ?

[1] If I believe my eyes, it looks like we have 3x more cases of flu than usual at this time of the year. If that's an indicator of what is coming, it would beat the 2009 H1N1 wave, by about 60%. Which, would make it relevant for wikipedia. "last year’s hiatus from the flu has many experts concerned about what this next year might bring — for the flu, as well as other respiratory viruses" [2]. All I have for now obviously is a WP:OR and a conjecture train. Just saying we should be on the lookout for the Influenza Season 2021-2022.[3]. If there is a team on that let me know. I think it's also appropriate to warn that I'm actually banned from Covid topics because I said in talk page that the masks wouldn't stop the second wave in June 2020. WP:CRYSTAL. Iluvalar (talk) 19:01, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

• [4]
• [5]

Just hording more questionnable sources... I think this is enough for a quick mention in history ? But I'm looking for sources for the creation of Influenza Season 2021-2022. Iluvalar (talk) 17:47, 3 September 2021 (UTC)

There's no need to mention individual flu seasons on this article, and news articles should probably not be used as sources on articles like this one. I don't view individual flu seasons as particularly notable since they're more or less the same every year and a normal occurrence. Some countries do experience trends though, e.g. in the US the reported number of cases was gradually increasing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6][7] That kind of multi-year information is probably fine to include in the flu season article. Velayinosu (talk) 01:43, 4 September 2021 (UTC)