BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- France has informed the Thai government that three tourists who became ill after visiting Thailand are not carrying the deadly bird flu virus, said a statement issued Friday by the Thai Public Health Ministry.All three were first tested for the virulent H5N1 virus on Reunion island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean. After getting mixed results, more sophisticated follow-up tests were conducted in Paris by the Pasteur Institute.The three were part of a 20-member group of tourists who were reported to have visited a bird park in Thailand."The lab result shows that the three French men suspected of being infected with H5N1 actually have H3N2, which is a normal human flu," Dr. Thawat Suntarajarn, director-general of the ministry's Department of Communicable Disease Control, told The Associated Press.Thawat said that he received the information from Dr. Didia Houssin, who he said is overseeing the bird flu tests in France.The initial results on the men were done by "rapid test," which showed positive results but did not distinguish between bird flu and human flu, he said.Even though the men proved free of bird flu, Thai authorities have asked bird parks around the country to stop allowing bird watchers to have close contact with birds, Thawat said, adding that no cases have been found of birds in such parks infected with the virus.Since bird flu swept into Asia in late 2003, Thailand has confirmed 19 human cases of the H5N1 bird flu virus, which have resulted in the deaths of 13 people. The latest fatality -- the first in just over a year -- was a 48-year-old man who died in the past week after handling his neighbors' sick chickens.The man's 7-year-old son also contracted the disease but is recovering. The human cases occurred as fresh outbreaks have also been found among poultry and wild birds in several parts of ThailandDeadly H5N1 bird flu has swept through poultry populations in many parts of Asia since 2003, jumping to humans and killing more than 60 people. In recent weeks, cases have also been found in birds in Europe.So far, most human cases have been traced to contact with sick birds, but health authorities fear that the virus could mutate into a form that is easily transmissible between humans, possibly causing a global pandemic.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.