Objective: To study the relationship between expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in serum samples and dengue virus (DV) infection in Pakistani population. Methods: This study involved three different groups, namely, DV2-infected DF patients (n = 30), DHF patients (n = 30) and healthy subjects (n = 30). Quantification of IL-6 expression in human serum samples among all the three groups from Pakistan was done by ELISA method. Other demographic findings, clinical parameters and symptoms were

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... d and reported in the study. Results: IL-6 expression in DHF group (mean value = 523.23 pg/mL) was significantly higher than that in DF group (mean value = 88.83 pg/mL) and healthy subjects (mean value = 6.72 pg/ mL). Our data suggested that IL-6 level was considerably elevated (P < 0.01) with severe DV infection leading to fatal outcome in DHF patients as compared to DF and control group. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the up-regulation of IL-6 has a significant role towards DHF, suggesting it as a prognostic marker for severe DV infection.