Sepsis Experimental models for sepsis provide an excellent avenue for understanding pathophysiology and mechanisms of disease during severe inflammatory states. Because sepsis is characterized by a prolonged inflammatory state that, if untreated, results in death (36) , it is comparable to the cytokine storm that ensues in H5N1 influenza infections in people. Any agents that have proven to be of benefit in sepsis models should be considered as candidates for influenza treatments, and we have found several examples in the literature of complementary medicines that do this.