The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday said the agency had deep experience with the Andes strain of the hantavirus, offering assurance to the American public that there was low risk for a widespread outbreak.

The remarks from CDC officials come as headlines about the virus — which broke out aboard a cruise ship last month — have sparked fears of a COVID-like pandemic.

Officials speaking to reporters on Saturday stressed that transmission of the virus from person to person was rare and the risk to the American public remains "extremely low."

Hantavirus is typically contracted when humans come into contact with rodent urine, saliva or feces.