Three illegal immigrants detained in Thessaloniki last week tested positive in initial tests for bird flu but were later given the all-clear after repeat examinations failed to detect the disease, Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis said yesterday.

Kaklamanis said that the three immigrants were detained just outside of Thessaloniki on January 20 hidden on board a truck transporting fish from neighboring Turkey.

Authorities detained the men, six in total, and tested them for avian flu as part of a routine precautionary procedure since none of them showed any of the symptoms associated with the virus.

The immigrants were from Afghanistan and Iraq but had spent about 10 days in Turkey.

The H5N1 strain of the virus that threatens human health has been detected in 21 people in Turkey.

Kaklamanis explained that they were taken to a hospital in Thessaloniki, where a test detected the flu.

However, two subsequent examinations gave them the all-clear from the disease.

“The last test is absolutely valid,” said Angelos Hadzakis, president of the Disease Prevention and Control Center.

According to Hadzakis, it is not unusual for a positive result to appear among a series of tests to find the flu.

Ministry sources said that the whole issue was kept under wraps until definite conclusions could be made in order to avoid possible panic reactions from residents.

This is the second false alarm regarding an incidence of bird flu in Greece.

In October, a suspected case of bird flu on a poultry farm on the Aegean island of Oinousses set off alarm bells across Europe and dented the country’s food safety record as an export ban was slapped on the area.

Consumption of poultry has plunged by between 30 to 40 percent recently, creating problems for an industry that employs 15,000 people and has annual sales of 750 million euros.