(NewsNation) — A former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the hantavirus outbreak will hit a dead end within several days.

“These hantaviruses have been around for a long time,” Dr. Robert Redfield told “Katie Pavlich Tonight” on Tuesday. “We have these hantaviruses that are in rodents in many of our cities.”

At least 18 people are under strict monitoring in the U.S. after disembarking the MV Hondius, the cruise ship at the center of the current virus outbreak.

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The Andes strain of the virus killed three people aboard the ship, and dozens more passengers and crew remain on board, according to Spanish authorities.

“We have a lot of experience here, and I’m pretty confident that the CDC and public health community has got the right response,” Redfield added. “We may see a couple more cases because of secondary spread and exposure.”

Despite people’s fears of the hantavirus spreading, Redfield says the illness doesn’t resemble a COVID-like pathogen.

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“The problem with COVID when it came in, we didn’t know anything about how this virus interacted with human beings,” Redfield stated. “It was brand new. It was novel.”

Redfield also addressed NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich’s inquiry about whether President Trump will bring up the Wuhan lab origin theory during his trip to China.

“I think it’s very clear now that the origins of this virus was in fact a laboratory, he said. “It was not part of nature or the wet market. That was always a ruse.”

“I don’t know if he’s going to bring it up or not. I just don’t know.”

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