If I have the flu, is it okay to say
- I got infected or 2) I’ve been infected 3) with influenza or 4) by influenza?
Do it sound weird?
Thank you!!!
“I’ve been infected with influenza” is correct. But it is still unusually formal, so you are far more likely to hear something like “I’ve got the flu”.
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I think a native English speaker wouldn’t say any of these. “I’ve got the flu“, or “I got sick” sounds more natural to me. Keep in mind though personally I might be super informal in the way I speak.
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Gosh, I don’t know. Does it sound weird? To me it does.
I would say, “Don’t come near me. I’ve got the flu.”
When talking about the general population, I might say, “Millions of people have been infected with the flu this season,” although the passive voice normally uses ‘by’ because things are done ‘by’ someone or something, in this case the virus: Millions of people have been infected by the flu virus this season. But “the flu” is synonymous with the illness (influenza) caused by the influenza virus, so they’re infected ‘with’ the flu (the illness), but they’re infected ‘by’ the flu virus.
But I can’t really hear myself saying, “I’m infected with the flu.”
When talking about infection, I would normally be referring to a part of the body.
I went swimming and got water in my ear and got an ear infection.
I accidentally drove a splinter under my fingernail and it got infected.
One time I was sucking on a piece of sour candy and aspirated some of my own saliva and started coughing really badly. I ended up with an infection in my lungs. And that’s not the only time. On more than one occasion I’ve gotten a lung infection from inhaling my own spit.
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