Similarly, the significantly increased serum IP-10 levels were also found in patients with pneumonia at the acute phase of SFTSV infection when compared with those of patients with SFTS (Deng et al., 2012), thus allowing for the speculation that IP-10 might play a role in the pathogenesis of SFTS-related lung injury. This evidence concerns the gene CXCL10 and susceptibility to pneumonia measurement.