Viral hemorrhagic fevers

Abstract

Viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) agents are dominantly from four major RNA virus families: the Arenaviridae, Bunyaviridae, Filoviridae, and Flaviviridae. General and hemorrhagic signs and symptoms of these viral infections are well known, but their neurological complications and clinical variants with distinct neurologic syndromes are not so famous. Pathologic features of VHF disease: systemic rapid viral replication, abnormal immune and inflammatory responses culminating in hemorrhage, edema, coagulopathies, multiorgan failure, and molecular properties, such as those shared with encephalitic members of the same family, are now, being recognized to contribute to a wide spectrum of neurologic disorders. Efforts to characterize and understand the pathogenesis of these VHF-associated central nervous system disorders are underway.