Atlanta, Georgia - The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday downplayed any domestic threat from the hantavirus, as Americans aboard a ship with confirmed cases look to come home.

"At this time, the risk to the American public is extremely low," the US' top public health institution said.

"We urge all Americans aboard the ship to follow the guidance of health officials as we work to bring you home safely."

Three aboard the M/V Hondius died from the rare but deadly virus.

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A plane believed to be carrying a passenger from the cruise ship landed in the Netherlands on Wednesday after patients were evacuated from the vessel off Cape Verde.

Evacuation of the remaining passengers is expected to begin May 11, via Spain's Tenerife island.

Humans can catch hantaviruses from contact with infected mice or rats or their droppings, or being bitten or inhaling contaminated dust. There are multiple types of hantaviruses in different parts of the world, with different symptoms.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has insisted the latest hantavirus outbreak is not comparable to the Covid pandemic.