Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation in 'Macaca mulatta' with Experimental Bolivian Hemorrhagic Fever

Abstract : Experimental infection of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) with Machupo virus produced a hemorrhagic disease similar to that of Bolivian hemorrhagic fever (BHF) in humans. The disease in infected animals was also characterized by the development of hypotension and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). The laboratory findings of severe thrombocytopenia, prolongation of the activated partial thromoboplastin time (APTT), and increased concentrations of serum fibrin split products in six of the eight infected monkeys were used to make a diagnosis of DIC. The prolongation of the APTT was indicative of an abnormality in the intrinsic blood coagulation system, and was interpreted as indirect evidence of Hageman factor activation, which was the prime mediator of the DIC and hypotension observed.