Zeitschrift für Bioterrorismus und Bioverteidigung

Abstrakt

The Role of Platelets in Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers

Dermot Cox, Maria Salvato and Juan Carlos Zapata

Arenaviridae, Bunyaviridae, Filoviridae and Flaviviridae are all RNA viruses that can induce a coagulopathy in infected patients. While there is a paucity of information on the cause of this coagulopathy, these viruses all produce a severe thrombocytopenia. Here, we review the literature on viral hemorrhagic fever and discuss the role played by platelets in the coagulopathy. We also discuss the possibility of using anti-platelet agents to moderate the coagulopathy, a strategy that might have a role to play in treating patients infected by these viruses.