Hantavirus live updates: US has no cases of Andes hantavirus

Officials in Ontario County in upstate New York said they're "investigating a suspected locally acquired hantavirus case" involving a Geneva High School student. Geneva is about 45 miles southeast of Rochester.

The Ontario County Public Health Department stressed that the case is not linked to the cruise ship and "there is no risk to the general public." Hantavirus strains in the U.S. don't spread from person-to-person, the health department said, and is only "spread through mouse and rodent droppings, especially when urine, feces, or nesting materials become aerosolized during cleaning."

The Geneva City School District said "there is no evidence of risk to other students or staff."

The school district said it's "continuing to work closely with the Ontario County Department of Health and will continue to follow any guidance provided by public health officials."

The U.S. currently has no cases of the Andes hantavirus, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at a briefing Friday.

The Andes version of hantavirus does not pass easily between people, and requires close, prolonged exposure, said the CDC's incident manager for hantavirus, Dr. David Fitter. The CDC only recommends testing symptomatic people, Fitter said.

He said anyone with high-risk exposure should follow strict quarantine protocols. He classified high-risk exposure as anyone who was still on the cruise ship between May 5 and May 10, as well as anyone who had close, prolonged contact with someone who has Andes hantavirus, including sitting on a plane near someone with hantavirus.

CDC officials said they will not offer any updates on the conditions of the 16 cruise ship passengers currently in quarantine in Nebraska, including if they are currently symptomatic, citing privacy.

The American doctor who was on the ship and initially tested positive has since tested negative and says "there's no evidence that I've had hantavirus."

A doctor from the biocontainment unit in Nebraska said the initial test was most likely a falsely positive, based on further testing.

Dr. Stephen Kornfeld -- the only American to test positive for hantavirus -- came down with flu-like symptoms on the cruise ship, and on Monday he was admitted to the University of Nebraska Medical Center's biocontainment unit following a positive test, officials said. The Bend, Oregon, resident has since tested negative and was cleared to relocate to Nebraska's quarantine unit, where 15 other passengers from the cruise ship who do not have symptoms are being monitored.

"I physically feel great -- I have felt great for many, many days," Kornfeld told ABC News. "Emotionally I feel wonderful. It's nice to be negative for hantavirus."

The recent hantavirus outbreak has left some pet owners wondering whether the virus can be spread through the furry creature sleeping on their couch or curled up on their lap.

While cats and dogs can be infected with the hantavirus, they generally don't have symptoms and experts say they are highly unlikely to infect their owners.

And even when a dog or cat does have a hantavirus infection, they don't transfer the virus to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Even owners of pet rats and mice don't have much to worry about, according to Dr. Kate Elden, the chief medical officer of the veterinary telehealth company, Dutch, told ABC News.

To be safe, clean cages away from food preparation and spray down bedding to minimize dust particles in the air if necessary, she advised.

Hantavirus remain rare and scattered in the U.S., according to the CDC, with most cases reported in California, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.

One rare exception is the Andes virus, a strain found mainly in South America that can spread from person to person through close contact and has been linked to the recent cruise ship cases.

Pets are not known to spread Andes virus to humans.

READ MORE: What pet owners should know about hantavirus