Talk:Orthomyxoviridae

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[edit] type A flu=Avian flu?

English has plenty of misnomers. If there is at some time in the future a type A that doesn't infect birds, then "avian flu" will be a misnomer for that postulated type A subtype. Whether the English speaking world at that time draws a distinction between "type A" and "avain flu" is for those speakers to decide. Some may make one choice and others make another choice (based on nationality or some other thing). We here and now are in no position to assert what "must" happen in such a postulate case. The term "avian flu" is in the hands of the public at this point. WAS 4.250 15:13, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Genera of Orthomyxoviridae

WAS 4.250:

I'd like to thank you first of all for the attention you've given to H5N1-related articles on Wikipedia. They're mostly of poor quality, and they remain that way because the subject is a highly technical one that is not easy for the non-expert to accurately write about. The efforts of some Wikipedians such as yourself have improved them very considerably, but there are still problems. I think they'll be much better in a few months.

With respect to this edit, the reasons I made the changes are:

1. Avian influenza is not a genus of Orthomyxoviridae. The term "avian infuenza" denotes a disease—it is influenza that affects birds. The term is frequently misused and misunderstood by lay people (a problem reflected on Wikipedia).
2. The orthomyxovirus family consists of 5 genera: Influenzavirus A, Influenzavirus B, Influenzavirus C, Isavirus, and Thogotovirus. Influenzavirus A is not the same as "avian influenza": the former is a genus of viruses, the latter is an illness. This too is misunderstood on Wikipedia. Equating them is like saying Streptococcus pneumoniae is pneumonia, or HIV is AIDS.
3. H5N1 and H1N1 are not type species of the genus Influenzavirus A. H5N1 is a subtype of Influenza A virus, which is a species of Influenzavirus A. There are many, many, many subtypes of the Influenza A species. Each subtype in turn has dozens or even hundreds of strains (there are more than 400 different strains of the H5N1 subtype alone).
4. I am aware that Influenzavirus A and Influenza A virus are links—I created the pages. I created them primarily as temporary redirects, for the benefit of people who were searching for information on H5N1. However, they are not suitable as targets in this article on orthomyxoviridae, because they do not explain Influenzavirus A nor Influenza A virus. The pages redirect to the article H5N1 (or they used to before this). If you are reading the article Orthomyxoviridae and come across the link Influenzavirus A, it is reasonable to expect that you'll be taken to a page that explains what that means when you click on it. Currently, that is not the case. When the family of articles on this vast subject is completely written, those links would be perfectly appropriate, but not now.

Would you mind my reverting the page? Regards encephalon 06:27, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Contradiction

Hi guys

This article contradicts the linked article on antigenic shift, which states that:

"Influenza A viruses are found in many different animals, including ducks, chickens, pigs, whales, horses, and seals. Influenza B viruses circulate widely only among humans."

Actually, I'm pretty sure your Orthomyxoviridae article is the correct one (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/744945.stm). ...I'll put a post up on the antigenic shift discussion page.

It might be helpful to emphasise that influenza A is MUCH more widely distributed amongst non-human hosts, hence antigenic shift, and that influenzas B and C are pretty much confined to human hosts hence antigenic drift. Note, only one incidence of influenza B has so far been found in a non-human host - in an isolated population of seals.

Cheers

Kay

hey whatz up i hope not to much bye