Our results revealed that both control and TLR7−/− BALB/c mice lost equivalent weights until day 6 post-infection (Fig. 1A), whereas weight recovery was slow in TLR7−/− mice compared with infected control mice (Fig. 1A), with approximately 75% of TLR7−/− mice ultimately succumbing to death compared with ~40% mortality in control-infected mice (Fig. 1B). This evidence concerns the gene TLR7 and infection.