GENEVA -- The risk of hantavirus spreading to the general population is "absolutely low," World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said on Friday.

"This is not COVID" and its risk to the general population remains "absolutely low," Lindmeier said at a briefing in Geneva, as the agency continues to coordinate the response to the outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic.

"I need to stress again and again, even those who have been sharing cabins don't seem to be both infected in some case ... it's not spreading anything close to how COVID was spreading," he said.

Three people have died and several others have fallen ill aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, prompting a major international public health response involving countries across Europe, Africa and Latin America.