I recommend against any panicking.  remember that even SARS at its peak still burned out after successfully infecting hundreds of people, and the Contagion or Omega Man scenario, never happened.  We at the forum specialise most of all in the issue of Being Prepared.  So prepare, do not panick.  Remember that virus burnout, or as with H1N1, reduction in lethality, has usually been the rule.  JUST PREPARE.

Also keep in mind, that it's a "suspected" case of H7N9 as the person is showing flu symptoms.  No confirmation as of yet.  

 Hi Jack,

For me who is in Vietnam right now, I do not think the right adjective is " interesting".

Cheers.

Hi Tonino - please don't take offense at my use of the word "interesting". If you read my posts you'll see that I don't take the threat of a pandemic - or indeed the loss of life associated with it - lightly.
As to your question about heading back to France - while it seems that you may be better prepared to ride out a pandemic there, wherever you live at the onset you can be sure it will show up in your neighborhood eventually. The global nature of such an event means you can't escape it, and while a minor pandemic is eminently survivable, even a first world healthcare system would be overwhelmed by a major pandemic akin to something like the 1918 outbreak. Without knowing what we're facing (if it turns out to be anything at all) it's impossible to give any kind of responsible advice on that one other than to wait and see how it unfolds.
And I'm Jacks dad

Regarding Jacksdad's use of the word "interesting", although it does not normally mean it, it can be used to denote something really aweful and horrible. In this use there is the understanding that it refers to:

The Chinese curse which says "May you live in interesting times".

Privately I have tracked the Sars out break and the H1N1 outbreak - both of which had potential for wide spread disaster, but instead they burnt out/mutated to milder cases.  As has been said there is not enough information available to know what to do.  If I was in your case I would probably stay put for now BUT work on plans of how to get back home as quickly as possible, or in case things move too fast (no flights available) making sure I would have reasonable stocks to survive some weeks without needing to go out shopping.  But in the end  this is YOUR decision. 

hi all

me been watching and waiting for the "slatewiper" for a long time so i find any new event

"interesting"because it may or may not be said "slatewiper"if it is a major pandemic with

the right conditions that make it the "slatewiper" which means it will have the potential to

 kill 97% of the world human population no matter where you are it will be the

"luck of the draw "if you survive so until it is proven to be  human to human i will find it

interesting , as an aside this virus is resistant to Tamiflu and Relenza i find this a bit scary

this could be the perfect "storm " i await with "interest" !!!!

H7N9 watch) WHO says killer virus not spreading between people
(23 mins ago)

There is no proof that the killer H7N9 bird flu virus is being transmitted between people in China, the World Health Organization said, despite several members of a family falling ill in Shanghai.
China announced just over a week ago that the virus had been found in humans for the first time, and the number of confirmed cases has since risen to 21, with six deaths.
“Although we do not know the source of infection, at this time there is no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission,’’ Michael O'Leary, the WHO's representative in China, told a news conference in Beijing, AFP reports.
Concerns over human transmission arose after the two sons of an elderly man in Shanghai, one of the earliest deaths from H7N9, developed respiratory illness, one of them dying, but the virus was later ruled out by Chinese authorities.
The WHO confirmed that government finding today.
“The family cluster raises the possibility of human-to-human transmission, but two of the cases in that cluster have not been laboratory confirmed,'' O'Leary said.
“There is no other evidence pointing toward sustained transmission among people,'' he added.
Four of the deaths have been in the commercial hub Shanghai, with the other two in the neighboring province of Zhejiang.
O'Leary praised China's transparency on the outbreak, following criticism the announcement of the initial deaths was too slow.
“We are very satisfied and pleased with the level of information shared and we believe we have been kept fully updated on the situation,'' he said.
The first deaths from the virus were not reported by authorities until three weeks after they occurred. Chinese officials said the delay in announcing the results was because it took time to determine the cause of the illness.
China faced condemnation a decade ago on accusations it covered up the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which eventually killed about 800 people globally