IL6 and infection: While some cytokines/chemokines such as TNFα and MIP-1β peaked very early after H5N1 infection (12 h), others, i.e. IL-1α and RANTES peaked somewhat later (at 30 h), followed by KC (neutrophil-activating protein-3) and IL-6, reaching their peak at 72 h after infection (Figure 3).