The Role of Platelets in Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers

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. *Corresponding author: Dermot Cox, Molecular & Cellular Therapeutics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 123 St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland, Tel: +353-1-402-2152; Fax: +353-1-402-2453; E-mail: [email protected] Received February 02, 2013; Accepted April 04, 2013; Published April 08, 2013 Citation: Cox D, Salvato MS, Zapata JC (2013) The Role of Platelets in Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers. J Bioterr Biodef S12:003. doi:10.4172/2157-2526.S12-003 Copyright: © 2013 Cox D, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are credited. Citation: Cox D, Salvato MS, Zapata JC (2013) The Role of Platelets in Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers. J Bioterr Biodef S12:003. doi:10.4172/2157-2526. S12-003