Journal of Bioterrorism & Biodefense
Open Access

Review Article

The Role of Platelets in Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers

Dermot Cox^1*, Maria S Salvato² and Juan Carlos Zapata²

¹Molecular and Cellular Therapeutics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Ireland

²Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, 21201, USA

*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: dcox@rcsi.ie

Received Date: February 02, 2013; Accepted Date: April 04, 2013; Published Date: April 08, 2013

Citation: Cox D, Salvato M, 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.

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.

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