Based on the above findings, and the data suggesting TLR3 also contributes to influenza-induced sickness behaviour (Majde et al., 2009), its likely that TLR3 has a role in facilitating organismal responses to extracellularly available dsRNA, but that MDA5 plays the major role in cytokine and IFNβ induction. The gene discussed is IFNB1; the disease is influenza.