IL6 and acute respiratory distress syndrome: Later, the virus propagates to the conducting respiratory airways at which stage the host immune response is more robust, and the disease clinically manifests.17 The progression of the disease to frank lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) depends on factors that are not clearly understood but include a component of cytotoxicity and lymphopenia,18 and subsequent inflammatory response.17,19 Increased expression of inflammatory markers like d-Dimer, ferritin and IL-6 have been linked to poor prognosis.20,21