Zheng et al.31reported that serum HMGB1, IL‐6, and TNF‐α in children with HFMD caused by EV71 infection were significantly increased, which was associated with the severity of the disease, suggesting that HMGB1 may be involved in the inflammatory mechanism of HFMD induced by EV71, and its level could be used as a clinical indicator to determine the severity and prognosis of HFMD. Here, TNF is linked to hand, foot and mouth disease.