Although increases in CRP concentrations have a variety of causes,16 the utility of CRP in distinguishing between bacterial and viral infections has been shown in stored samples from febrile patients in southeast Asia across diverse settings and populations, including inpatients, outpatients, children, adults, and pregnant women.17, 18 These studies concluded that CRP is highly sensitive and moderately specific in identifying bacterial infections. This evidence concerns the gene CRP and viral infectious disease.