IL6 and infection: IL-6 and IL-17A were the primary cytokines positively and significantly associated with mortality at time point 1 (2–4 days after infection) (HR 1.72, 95% CI 1.25–2.37, p = 0.001) and (HR 2.36, 95% CI 1.35–4.15, p = 0.003), respectively (Additional file 2: Table S1).