Review The Role of Platelets in the Pathogenesis of Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers

Abstract: Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHF) are acute zoonotic diseases that, early on, seem to cause platelet destruction or dysfunction. Here we present the four major ways viruses affect platelet development and function and new evidence of molecular factors that are preferentially induced by the more pathogenic members of the families Flaviviridae, Bunyaviridae, Arenaviridae, and Filoviridae. A systematic search was performed through the main medical electronic databases using as parame-ters all current findings concerning platelets in VHF. Additionally, the review contains information from con-ference proceedings