Furthermore, persistent expression of CCL2/MCP-1, CXCL9/MIG and CXCL10/IP-10 was observed in the blood of SARS patients with fatal disease [48], [49], [100], reinforcing the idea that elevated expression of proinflammatory cytokines significantly contributes to the pathogenicity of the virus. Here, CXCL9 is linked to severe acute respiratory syndrome.