10 Questions for Michael Leavitt

China reported a fresh outbreak of avian influenza on Oct. 19. Then Taiwan said it had found infected birds smuggled from the mainland, and Thailand announced its 13th human death from the disease. This follows the spread of bird flu's H5N1 virus to Europe, intensifying fears of a potential pandemic. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt, 54, was recently in Asia and spoke with TIME's Kay Johnson.

You've called H5N1 an "enemy avian virus" and warned of a "pandemic struggle." Are you deliberately using language similar to the war on...

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