Venezuela's Health Ministry said Tuesday that at least three people died after contracting Hantavirus, while ruling out transmission of this rare disease between humans.

The ministry explained that those with a "confirmed diagnosis of Hantavirus" died in the state of Anzoátegui in northeastern Venezuela, and added that there is "no scientific evidence of human-to-human transmission in our country."

You may also be interested

The ministry also denied any link between the Hantavirus deaths and the deaths of two healthcare workers in the western state of Barinas, whose cause remains unknown, and ruled out any "connection between the reported cases."

An outbreak of Hantavirus on a cruise ship in April sparked a global health scare.

Three people aboard the MV Hondius died from the disease at that time.

The World Health Organization declared the outbreak officially over in early July.

The ship had sailed on April 1 from Argentina, where the Andes variant – the only variant known to be capable of human-to-human transmission – is endemic in some areas.

There is no specific treatment for respiratory Hantavirus, which is usually transmitted through rodents and very rarely transmitted between people.