Pathogenesis of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease. I. Blood Coagulation during Viral Infection

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Abstract
Studies of coagulation were performed on 11 whitetail deer experimentally infected with the virus of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD). Results indicated a decrease in fibrinogen and the activity of Factor VIII late in the infection, possibly the result of their utilization in clotting. Reductions of numbers and function of platelets were reflected by abnormal Russell's viper-venom time tests in the absence of significant change in the one-stage prothrombin time. It is suggested that a combination of damage to vascular walls and abnormalities of platelets is involved in the pathogenesis of EHD. Neither splenectomy nor the dosages of heparin and aspirin administered altered the course of EHD infection in deer.