And there was a marked correlation between CRP levels and IL-27 levels in clinical stage III EV71-infected HFMD patients (Spearman's r = 0.3960, P = 0.0094) but not in clinical stage II or IV EV71-infected HFMD patients as shown in Figures 2(b)–2(d). Here, CRP is linked to hand, foot and mouth disease.