Tests show there was never any Ebola virus present in a plastic bottles sent to the New Zealand Herald newspaper offices in Auckland, police say.

But they are still waiting on test results for similar packages sent to parliament and the US embassy in Wellington this week which have sparked emergency service response and increased security.

The NZ Herald package, which was delivered on Tuesday, had been sent to a Melbourne lab for testing – the nearest available lab that can test for the deadly disease.

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A document in the NZ Herald package suggested the virus was contained in the bottle, a police spokeswoman said.

“That assertion has clearly been dispelled.”

The same day a similar package was sent to parliament and on Wednesday an X-ray machine picked up a vial inside a package delivered to the US embassy in Thorndon.

The package was left intact and sent for testing, a police spokesman told AAP.

However, police on Thursday were still awaiting the test results from Melbourne.

Police are trying to track down the source or sources of the packages.