Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues

by Jonathan Kennedy

The scale of the cumulative devastation is hard to imagine: the indigenous population of Mesoamerica was about 20 million when Cortés arrived but had fallen to 1.5 million a century later.[25]

rich nations, poor people tend to have jobs which they cannot do from home; they travel by public transport and live in crowded housing, often with multiple generations. As a result, they are more likely to be exposed to the pathogens than wealthier people. To make matters worse, poor people are also more likely to have risk factors that could make them very ill if they contract Covid-19. These include obesity and non-communicable