Talk:WikiJournal of Medicine/An overview of Lassa fever

Plagiarism check

 * ✅ Report from WMF copyvios tool: 0% Plagiarism, 100% Unique. Mikael Häggström (discuss • contribs) 00:05, 29 September 2018 (UTC)

Copyright issues

 * note: comments below refer to the published version of this article, 10.15347/wjm/2019.002

This text "In health care settings, staffs should always apply standard infection prevention and control precautions when caring for people, regardless of their presumed diagnosis. These include basic hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, use of personal protective equipment (to block splashes or other contact with infected materials)" was from HERE. Also found a few other instances which makes the article suspect. Doc James (discuss • contribs) 18:43, 18 June 2019 (UTC)


 * Thank you for raising this. A check of the versions indicates that the problem material was introduced during the response to review. The author has been notified and I'll riase it with the editors as to how to proceed.
 * WMF copyvio tool result 25 September 2018
 * WMF copyvio tool result 1 June 2019
 * T.Shafee(Evo&#65120;Evo)talk 01:28, 19 June 2019 (UTC)


 * I am reading the Wikipedia article w:Lassa fever. Was the article possibly partially adapted from Wikipedia? --George Ho (discuss • contribs) 07:58, 19 June 2019 (UTC)


 * This text "Prevention of Lassa fever relies on prompting good “community hygiene” to discourage rodents from entering homes. Effective measures include storing grain and other foodstuffs in rodent–proof containers, disposing of garbage far from the home, maintaining clean households and keeping cats. Because Mastomys rats are so abundant in endemic areas, it is not possible to completely eliminate them from the environment but it is possible to control contact with them. Family members should avoid contact with blood and other bodily fluid while caring for sick persons and should observe safe burial practices"
 * seems to come from the WHO page on Lassa-fever.


 * This text "One possible mechanism involved in Lassa fever pathogenesis could be infection-triggered induction of uncontrolled cytokine expression similar to what is seen in sepsis."comes straight from here comparison link 11:21, 19 June 2019‎ (The preceding unsigned comment was added by 2605:a000:ee41:5400:415b:8d66:6764:a8d9 (talk • contribs) 11:21, 19 June 2019‎)


 * The comparison link does not seem to be able to read the PMC text, so no issue comes up. This may have also been the case with initial submission, possibly because there were few references for the "Earwig's Copyvio Detector" to check? 2605:A000:EE41:5400:10B8:202C:CC8A:A59D (discuss) 01:26, 21 June 2019 (UTC)


 * Thank you for raising this. All this was as a result of lack of reference imediately after each sentence which i will effect immediately. Thank you once again--Laamiido (discuss • contribs) 15:06, 20 June 2019 (UTC)
 * The issue is not one of citations, it's using copied text not in quotes. This WP link might help. (The preceding unsigned comment was added by 199.18.157.82 (talk • contribs) 15:44, 20 June 2019‎)
 * Thank you, i am currently on that, it should take effect once am done. thanks once again--Laamiido (discuss • contribs) 16:20, 20 June 2019 (UTC)


 * I have made all necessary corrections and address all necessary issues, the result generated is (Violation unlikely). Though there are some unavoidable words like Center for disease control, standard precautions and others, which systems still flags it but with a confidence of less than 10% you can check it out. I was unaware of this rule that was what lead to this, i thought proper citation and references cover the copyright issues. once again thank you. Again i am still addressing the organizational issues WP:MEDMOS. I will update the discussion as soon as am done.
 * comparison link 18:59, 20 June 2019
 * --Laamiido (discuss • contribs) 18:59, 20 June 2019 (UTC)

Integration into Wikipedia

 * note: comments below refer to the published version of this article, 10.15347/wjm/2019.002

If this is desired the article in question needs to follow WP:MEDMOS. This one does not so is not really suitable even once the above issue is solved. Doc James (discuss • contribs) 18:45, 18 June 2019 (UTC)


 * I have copied the text over to WikiJournal_Preprints/An_overview_of_Lassa_fever as a location to work on an update MEDMOS-compliant version. I'll also raise with the editors how to update the procedures to avoid similar situations. T.Shafee(Evo&#65120;Evo)talk 01:30, 19 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Points below adapted from comment by Doc James:
 * Fix stray capitalisation (e.g. "In Nigeria, From 1 January to 20 May 2018...")
 * Check that refs are immediately after punctuation (e.g. "...of an infected rodent[4].")
 * Organize section order per WP:MEDMOS
 * Use easier to understand language (will also adress some of the copyright problems)
 * Add a reference to every sentence (same ref can be used for multiple sentence in a row)
 * User 'person' not 'patient'
 * T.Shafee(Evo&#65120;Evo)talk 05:33, 19 June 2019 (UTC)

Further comments
If I am allowed to make comment (and if I am not allowed, please remove it), many errors are noticeable. For example, a quick glance shows several issues: Abstract Pathophysiology Frequency Causes and transmission Diagnosis Management Chhandama (discuss • contribs) 11:54, 4 July 2019 (UTC)
 * 1) The accepted scientific name of the virus is Lassa mammarenavirus, and is nowhere mentioned.
 * 2) Use of dash (–) need checking throughout the text. [See Hyphens and dashes]
 * 3) So many misuse of cap/small letter at sentence opening.
 * 4) Commas are missing in places where they normally should, e.g. many ; can be replaced.
 * 1) “...single stranded...” should be “single-stranded”.
 * 2) “...Nurses in Lassa town Borno State, Northeastern Nigeria.” Caps error and missing comma.
 * 3) “...Ebola hemorrhagic fever etc.” Comma would help.
 * 1) “...negative sense...” is better as “negative-sense”.
 * 2) "...infected rodent[4]." Better is "...infected rodent.[4]"
 * 3) “Lassa fever” is clearly redundant in most sentences.
 * 1) “Nevertheless, Lassa fever frequently infects...”. The fever does not infect, but the virus does.
 * 2) “...300,000 – 500,000 cases annually and about 5,000 deaths”. It might be “... 300,000–500,000 cases and about 5,000 deaths annually.”
 * 3) “...parts of West Africa, which includes...” Should it be “include”?
 * 4) If “There have been reports of Lassa fever in neighboring countries...” is true, then it is not endemic in the regions described in previous sentence.
 * 5) Confirmed single case in US is not an epidemiology.
 * 6) “There have been imported cases ... all of which where imported from...” Syntax problem.
 * 7) “Of these, 431 were confirmed positive, 10 are probable...” Grammar.
 * 8) “out of these” Cap error.
 * 1) "...infected materials." could be "...virus-contaminated materials." Materials are not infected.
 * 2) Difficult to read: "The presence of Lassa virus in seminal fluid definitely suggests increased risk of transmission through sexual intercourse but viral dose that the person is exposed to might not be enough to cause clinical infection often enough to contribute significantly to the burden of the clinical disease in these populations."
 * 1) "Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction" is "Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction". [In two places]
 * 2) "...Ebola virus testing should be followed when testing for Lassa virus." Looks like a medical instruction.
 * 3) "class II or III biosafety cabinets", BSL-4, BSL-2. Why not use a consistent terminology?
 * 1) "...antiviral nucleoside (guanosine)" may be actually "antiviral nucleoside (guanosine) analogue". They are a bit different.
 * 2) It is best to reserve "significantly/significant" for statistical results; e.g. the sentence "Therefore ribavirin significantly inhibits..." can be "Therefore ribavirin strongly/effectively inhibits viral replication by inhibiting DNA and translation by blocking RNA synthesis." [Significant is used in other place]
 * 3) "(e.g. Thelassemia major, sickle cell anemia (with hemoglobin level less than 8g/dl) etc.)" may be "(e.g. thalassemia major, sickle cell anemia with hemoglobin level less than 8 g/dl, etc.)
 * 4) "Fatal and no-fatal myocardial infarction..." can be "Fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction..."
 * 5) "...and/or..." is normally either and or or.
 * 6) "Ribafirin" in every sentence is redundant. [Subsection Ribavirin in pregnancy]
 * 7) "...excreted via sperm" may be "...secreted via..." Definitely not excreted.
 * 8) "Pregnancy testing should occur monthly during ribavirin therapy and for six months after therapy has stopped." can be "Pregnancy test needs to be done/performed every month during ribavirin therapy and continued for six months after completion of the therapy."

Further comments to further comments
This is not a comprehensive revision or improvement, and several suggestions have not been addressed (but then note that I am not an authorised reviewer). Abstract Pathophysiology Frequency Presentation Causes Diagnosis Treatment  Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) is  Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) Prognosis Prevention Other issues Chhandama (discuss • contribs) 02:52, 13 July 2019 (UTC)
 * 1) "Lassa mammarenavirus" should be properly written as Lassa mammarenavirus — biological nomenclature is a rule.
 * 2) Use (–) for number range, (-) for minus and compound words, and not surrounded by spaces.
 * 3) Stray letter-case errors are still plenty.
 * 4) Comma and semicolon are still a problem.
 * 1) “...single stranded...” should be “single-stranded”.
 * 2) “...Capillary leak...” should be "capillary leak".
 * 3) "2 missionary nurses in Lassa Village, Borno State, Northeastern Nigeria." can be "...two missionary nurses in Lassa, a village in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria."
 * 4) "Approximately 80% of infected persons are asymptomatic." is redundant, or better be merged into 2nd sentence of 1 para.
 * 5) "Rodents of Mastomys genus, often known as the Natal multimammate rat (or mouse) or common African rat are the reservoir of Lassa virus.[1] When the rodents become infected with Lassa virus, they infect humans through their urine and faeces, but remain unharmed." may be written (as only one species is involved) as " Natal multimammate mice (Mastomys natalensis) are the reservoirs of Lassa virus.[1] As natural hosts, the mice remain unharmed, but they can transmit the infection to humans through their urine and faeces."
 * 6) "...diseases, (e.g. malaria, typhoid, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, etc.), early..." may be "...diseases such as malaria, typhoid, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, and dengue, early..."
 * 1) "...through direct contact and..." may be "...through direct contact of and..."
 * 2) "...urine and droppings, direct contact with these excreta, through touching soiled objects, eating contaminated food, or exposure to open cuts or sores, can lead to infection" may be "...urine and droppings so that direct contact with these excreta, through touching soiled objects, eating contaminated food, or exposure to open cuts or sore can lead to infection."
 * 3) "sexual transmission"? Or does it mean "sexually transmitted cases/transmission through sexual intercourse"?
 * 4) “Lassa fever/virus” is still very much redundant. Just for examples, in phrases like "...Due to limited data on Lassa fever...", "implicated in severe Lassa virus infections", "all cases of Lassa fever", they can be removed.
 * 5) "Two immunoglobulins (IgM and IgG antibody isotypes) are produced in Lassa virus infected person, because both can be present in viremic persons, and possibly only non-neutralizing antibodies are produced early in the infectious process, this makes the antibodies to remain present in a-lot of persons across West Africa, while late antibodies are protective because they neutralize the virus." hardly makes sense. What is " a-lot of persons?" Many people. Sentence is better split and simplified.
 * 1) "...Lassa Fever is extremely difficult due to the non-specific clinical presentation; poor surveillance systems; sizeable human migration,..." may be "...Lassa fever is extremely difficult due to the non-specific clinical presentation, poor surveillance systems, sizeable human migration,..."
 * 2) "...10 are probable, 1495 negative." may be "...10 were probable, and 1495 were negative."
 * 3) "Of these, 526 were confirmed positive, 15 probable and 1693 negative (not a case)." may be "Of these, 526 were confirmed positive, 15 were probable and 1693 were negative."
 * 1) "... disorientation, and coma," is having "and" in the wrong place.
 * 1) "It is the most prevalent mouse ..." may be "The mice are the most abundant rodents ...."
 * 2) "food stuffs" is "foodstuffs".
 * 3) "... infectious materials, airborne transmission is rare as there is no evidence to support that." may be "... virus-contaminated materials, but airborne infection is unlikely."
 * 4)  Another "infectious materials" in the next sentence – materials are not infectious.
 * 1) "... Lassa fever disease is usually " is "Lassa fever is usually".
 * 2) "... febrile diseases e.g. malaria, typhoid, influenza, relapsing fever, leptospirosis and other hemorrhagic fevers e.g. yellow fever, dengue, Marburg and Ebola." may be "... febrile diseases including malaria, typhoid, influenza, relapsing fever, leptospirosis and other hemorrhagic fevers such as yellow fever, dengue, Marburg and Ebola."
 * 3) "immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies or" is "immunoglobulin G (IgG) or".
 * 4) "...inactivated virus. it is very.." is "...inactivated virus. It is very helpful in areas where BSL4 laboratories..." Also describe/full name of BSL as this is its first appearance in the text.
 * 5) "Blood cultures to differentiate other pathogens (e.g. typhoid)[41] and blood smear to differentiate malaria parasite" may be "Blood cultures to differentiate from other pathogens (e.g.  Salmonella enterica which causes typhoid)[41] and blood smear to differentiate from malaria parasite..." Note that typhoid is not the pathogen.
 * 6) The medical instruction should be toned down, e.g. "The WHO guidelines for the collection, storage, and handling of Ebola virus specimens testing can be followed while testing for Lassa virus." Don't give orders to the readers.
 * 7) "However, BSL-4 laboratories are limited worldwide, when not available, samples should be handled in..." may be "However, BSL-4 laboratories are limited in endemic countries, and in such areas, samples can be handled in..."
 * 8) "In West Africa false-negative results can occur if the probe or antibody pairs do not adequately bind to the target," may be "False negative results were reported when the probe or antibody pairs do not adequately bind to the target."
 * 9) "This can be due to the high diversity of nucleotide and amino acid of the Lassa virus isolates sequenced." may be "This could be due to the high diversity of nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the Lassa virus isolates."
 * 10) "For instance, a widely used RT-PCR assay in West Africa[44] was modified when when primer-template mismatch lead false negatives results." may be "For instance, a widely used RT-PCR assay was modified when primer-template mismatch was found to give false negative results."
 * 1) It will help to mention any antipyretic drug.
 * 2) "... early initiation of Ribavirin" is "... early initiation of ribavirin".
 * 3) "(e.g. Thelassemia major, sickle cell anemia (with hemoglobin level less than 8g/dl) etc.)" may be "(e.g. thalassemia major and sickle cell anemia with hemoglobin level less than 8 g/dl)". Please note the subtle spelling and space.
 * 4) "... ribavirin induced anemia" is "... ribavirin-induced anemia".
 * 5) "Individuals with known cardiac compromise should have electrocardiography monitored..." can be "Individuals with known cardiac compromise will require electrocardiography monitored..."
 * 1) " This was the proposal of Vito et al. in 2010..." may be " This is after the proposal of Vito et al. in 2010..."
 * 1) "Mortality rate during epidemics can be as high as 50%." may be most suitable for the first sentence; e.g. the paragraph can be "Mortality rate due to Lassa fever during epidemics can be as high as 50%. About 15–20% of those hospitalized die.[57] The mortality rates among pregnant women are 80% and 87% at second and third trimester respectively, while 95% of them experience fetal deaths."
 * 1) "Initiating good “community hygiene” which will prevent rodents from entering homes." Why not in proper language for readers like "Initiating good “community hygiene” is an effective way to prevent carrier rodents from entering homes.
 * 2) "While caring for sick persons, caregivers should prevent contact with all bodily fluid. The government and stakeholder should also ensure safe burial process are sustained." may be "It is important for caregivers and medical service personnel to avoid direct contact with all bodily fluid. Burial process and places are also to be arranged cautiously." Then the next sentence "Clinical staff..." can be removed, as the information is included.
 * 1) Citations in the abstract is not normally necessary, but I cannot judge on the journal's policy.
 * 2) There is a stray information in the summary: "Lassa fever was first elucidated in the 1950s, but the virus was not recognized until 1969...", which is not in the text. As a matter of fact there seems to be three nurses who were infected during that epidemic, and the virus was identified from one of them. A missing section on the rather captivating history is regretful.
 * 3) Now I will be honest. The biggest issue is that information on the biology of the virus is missing, while quite a stress is put on the drug. The structure, cellular invasion and reproduction of the virus would define the actual nature of the disease; and without these, the very aim of this article as "an overview" is hugely undermined.

Caps, typos, etc.
I think to help more the more experienced editors stay on target with the meatier, health-specific concerns of the article, I am going to do a passthrough to try to eliminate spelling, grammar, capitalization and other minor issues so you don’t have to worry about them anymore. I think many of the items raised above are valid and I will incorporate them as I go, as long as they don’t significantly change the meaning of the text. If anyone disagrees with the changes, please feel free to undo them as you see fit. Regards, Sherylock (discuss • contribs) 03:09, 15 July 2019 (UTC)
 * I've completed a runthrough of the body of the article, and I've tried to incorporate AMA style where I've noticed it (such as with leaving out the punctuation for eg). My changes took care of some of the issues raised previously, but the author will still need to go through and examine the other proposed edits. Sherylock (discuss • contribs) 02:28, 6 August 2019 (UTC)