Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) is caused by obligate intracellular bacteria in the Ehrlichia phagocytophila group. The disease ranges from subclinical to fatal. We speculated that cell-mediated immunity would be important for recovery from and potentially in the clinical manifestations of HGE; thus, serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin 1beta (IL-1beta), gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), IL-10, and IL-4 concentrations were studied. IFN-gamma (1,035 +/- 235 pg/ml [mean +/- standard error of the mean]) and IL-10 (118 +/- 46 pg/ml) concentrations were elevated in acute-phase sera versus convalescent sera and normal subjects (P </= 0.013 and P </= 0.018, respectively). TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and IL-4 levels were not elevated. Cytokine levels in severely and mildly affected patients were not different. HGE leads to induction of IFN-gamma-dominated cell-mediated immunity associated with clinical manifestations, recovery from infection, or both.