CIIC: Now you just mentioned that people in the disaster area need food and water. Do you think they also need psychological help as well?

LEAVITT: We have learned in disaster situations that during the middle of the disaster people rally and they put forward even extra energy but after the disaster when they realize the loss that they have sustained that is the moment when they need to have help with their emotions and with their mental health. Typically, we have found that the period of 6 to 9 months after disasters is the critical part of the mental health recovery. So this is a problem that China will have to deal with for several months and probably many years. This is not something that will recover quickly.

CIIC: As you know, this month an infectious disease called HFMD also struck parts of China and regarding this can you elaborate on how the USA has been willing to give support to the Chinese people: what assistance will the US give China to combat HMFD?

LEAVITT: We have great respect for China and its scientific ability. I have personally seen the disease tracking system that China put forward throughout their entire country after SARS. We do have scientists at our Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. They are specialists in this particular disease, and we have offered to have our scientists collaborate with Chinese scientists and I’ve also suggested that this would be a project that we would be very willing to collaborate on in determining how to stop it.