90-Second Read: CDC's acting director says Hantavirus is not "a five-alarm fire bell"

Jay Bhattacharya, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told CBS News that the Hantavirus outbreak should be treated differently from COVID. Bhattacharya, who also leads the National Institutes of Health, said Hantavirus "is a more deadly disease if you get it," but added that the "epidemiological risk is very, very different" than COVID. According to health officials, the Hantavirus outbreak identified on the cruise ship is the Andes strain of the virus, which can spread between people but requires prolonged close contact with someone who is ill.

There have been at least three deaths and 10 confirmed or suspected cases of the rare, rodent-borne illness linked to the outbreak on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius, which had been sailing the Atlantic Ocean. On communicating the potential danger to the public, Bhattacharya said the CDC does not want to cause unnecessary panic. The key thing is that we should be keeping the public aware of when there's actually threats to them, not causing the public to panic, not speculating about things that haven't happened, or potentially could in some universe happen.

Of course, any time so many people are traveling, there's always the possibility of various outbreaks or whatnot to happen. And the United States has systems in place to make sure that if something happens that we respond appropriately. This White House will tell you the risk to Americans is low.