Elevated CXCL10 serum levels in Measles virus primary infection and reinfection correlate with the serological stage and hospitalization status.

We quantified serum concentrations of the chemokine CXCL10 in 288 patients with measles virus (MeV) primary infection and 16 patients with reinfection (breakthrough after vaccine failure). CXCL10 peaked with emergence of IgM antibodies and was elevated in hospitalized patients (3233 vs. 1930pg/ml, p<0.0001). CXCL10 furthermore differed between primary and reinfection (median 1958 vs. 932pg/ml, p=0.0402). In comparison to other viral infections with rash-like symptoms, CXCL10 was so highly elevated in MeV infection being able to differentiate measles from other infections (AUC=0.935, 95%CI: 0.905-0.965, p<0.0001). CXCL10 has thus potential to be marker for diagnosis, staging and severity assessment of MeV infections.