Ebola and hantavirus are two of the world's most dangerous infectious diseases, yet both can begin with symptoms that look almost identical to the flu. This deceptive similarity is why rapid diagnosis and strict infection control measures are critical. A new review published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal highlights how quickly these viruses can escalate from routine-seeming illness to life-threatening complications, and why healthcare professionals need to stay vigilant.

What Are the Early Warning Signs?

Both viruses share a dangerous characteristic: they start quietly. Patients typically develop fever, headache, muscle aches, and abdominal pain, symptoms that could easily be mistaken for seasonal flu. The incubation period for both diseases ranges from 2 to 4 weeks for hantavirus and 2 to 21 days for Ebola, meaning infected people can spread the virus before they even realize they're sick.

The problem is that without proper testing, these early symptoms won't raise red flags. A person might visit their doctor, receive supportive care for what seems like a viral illness, and return home. But as the disease progresses, the outcomes diverge dramatically from the flu. Hantavirus can cause severe heart and lung complications, while Ebola can lead to hemorrhagic fever, organ failure, and death in 30 to 50 percent of cases, depending on the strain.

How Do Healthcare Workers Distinguish These Diseases?

Diagnosis requires specific laboratory testing. For hantavirus, healthcare providers use serology tests and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, which are performed by specialized facilities like Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. For Ebola, PCR testing confirms the diagnosis. The key is recognizing when to test in the first place.

Risk factors that should prompt testing include recent travel to affected regions, close contact with infected individuals, or exposure to animals like bats, primates, or game animals in areas experiencing outbreaks. Healthcare workers are trained to ask these questions, but the symptoms alone won't tell them what they're dealing with.

Steps to Protect Yourself and Others if Exposure Is Suspected

• Seek immediate medical evaluation: If you've traveled to regions with known Ebola or hantavirus outbreaks or had contact with potentially infected individuals, inform your healthcare provider before your visit so they can take appropriate precautions.
• Practice strict isolation: Suspected cases require airborne, droplet, and contact precautions. Patients should be isolated in a designated area, and caregivers must wear fit-tested N95 respirators, face shields, gloves, and fluid-impermeable clothing.
• Notify public health authorities: Any suspected case of Andes virus (a strain of hantavirus that spreads person-to-person) or Ebola must be reported to local public health officials immediately to prevent further transmission.

Why Is Treatment So Limited?

Here's where the situation becomes even more sobering: there is currently no approved antiviral medication or vaccine specifically for hantavirus. Treatment focuses entirely on supportive care, meaning doctors can manage symptoms and complications, but they cannot directly attack the virus itself.

Ebola treatment has made some progress. Vaccines targeting Zaire ebolavirus have proven highly effective, and two antiviral treatments have reduced mortality rates from 50 percent to 35 percent. However, the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo involves Bundibugyo ebolavirus, and no approved vaccines or medications exist for this strain. Patients infected with Bundibugyo must rely on supportive care alone.

What's Being Done to Develop Better Treatments?

The pharmaceutical industry is actively working to fill these treatment gaps. Traws Pharma, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, is developing novel antiviral agents targeting hantavirus, Ebola, and other difficult-to-treat respiratory viruses. The company is advancing investigational oral small molecule antiviral agents with activity against seasonal influenza, H5N1 bird flu, Lassa Fever, and COVID-19.

Additionally, Traws is pursuing a Phase 2a human influenza challenge study using an investigational drug called tivoxavir marboxil (TXM). The company expects to resubmit updated safety data to the United Kingdom's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) during the third quarter of 2026, with a formal response expected within 30 days of resubmission.

"Seasonal influenza continues to be a major public health threat in the US and worldwide. Influenza treatment and prevention is especially important for vulnerable populations including elderly and immunocompromised individuals who are at much greater risk for severe influenza compared to the general population," stated Robert R. Redfield, Chief Medical Officer for Traws Pharma.

Robert R. Redfield, Chief Medical Officer, Traws Pharma

The broader message is clear: while Ebola and hantavirus may start like the flu, they require completely different responses. Rapid diagnosis, strict infection control, and immediate notification of public health authorities are not optional extras; they are essential to preventing outbreaks and protecting vulnerable populations. For now, the best defense remains awareness, vigilance, and the willingness to test and isolate when risk factors are present.