hemorrhagic disease

pathology

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June 29, 2026

Quick Summary

Hemorrhagic disease refers to conditions characterized by bleeding. A hemorrhage is the escape of blood from blood vessels into surrounding tissues. This bleeding can be internal or external and may occur due to injury, anticoagulant therapy, hemophilia, or severe blood vessel damage.1

Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are a group of highly fatal viral diseases that cause significant bleeding, along with symptoms like fever, malaise, and shock. These diseases are often transmitted by specific animal or insect hosts and are caused by viruses from families such as Flaviviridae, Arenaviridae, Bunyaviridae, and Filoviridae. Examples include dengue, yellow fever, Lassa fever, and Ebola.23

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Ebola
…a severe and often fatal viral hemorrhagic fever. Outbreaks in primates—including gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans—and domestic pigs have been recorded. The disease is characterized by extreme fever, rash, and profuse hemorrhaging. In humans, Ebola disease has an average fatality rate of about 50
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…a severe and often fatal viral hemorrhagic fever. Outbreaks in primates—including gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans—and domestic pigs have been recorded. The disease is characterized by extreme fever, rash, and profuse hemorrhaging. In humans, Ebola disease has an average fatality rate of about 50
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virus
Annotated classification
Some strains cause severe hemorrhagic fevers in humans; the mortality rate from these diseases is as high as 90 percent. Human infections with Marburg virus have been traced to laboratory monkeys, but human outbreaks of fatal Ebola virus infection in Congo (Kinshasa) and Sudan have not been traced to…
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Some strains cause severe hemorrhagic fevers in humans; the mortality rate from these diseases is as high as 90 percent. Human infections with Marburg virus have been traced to laboratory monkeys, but human outbreaks of fatal Ebola virus infection in Congo (Kinshasa) and Sudan have not been traced to…
Read More