A cytokine storm is an overreaction of the body's immune system. It can be deadly. It consists of a positive feedback loop between cytokines and immune cells.[1]
It is believed that cytokine storms were responsible for many of the deaths during the 1918 influenza pandemic, which killed a disproportionate number of young adults.[1] In this case, a healthy immune system may have been a liability rather than an asset. Preliminary research results from Hong Kong also suggest this as the probable reason for many deaths during the SARS epidemic in 2003.[2] Human deaths from the bird flu H5N1 usually involve cytokine storms as well.[3]
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