In the cytokine profile generated for severe hepatitis (AST/AST > 400 U/L), we observed that in addition to IL-8 being significantly elevated during the acute phase (P = 0.00) and at defervescence (P = 0.01), TNFα was significantly elevated during the acute phase (P = 0.01, Figure 7). The gene discussed is CXCL8; the disease is hepatitis A virus infection.