An infectious disease specialist from Athens yesterday played down the danger of a fatal viral epidemic following the recent deaths of three people from virus-triggered inflammatory diseases of the heart.

On Saturday, epidemiologist Dimitrios Trichopoulos, a professor at Harvard University, spoke of an epidemic. But yesterday the head of the Center for the Control of Infectious Diseases, Theodoros Papadimitriou, told Kathimerini it was still impossible to say whether this was true, pending examinations of the viruses involved.

Meanwhile, reports yesterday said four people are currently being treated in Athens for myocarditis or pericarditis that followed a viral infection which presented all the symptoms of influenza. Three of the patients are hospitalized in Aghia Olga hospital and one in Amalia Fleming hospital.