The greatest menace?

The possibility that the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan has now reached the UK is testament to how fast diseases can spread in the modern world. As authorities try to contain the outbreak and stop further mutations, millions of Chinese have been banned from travelling to join their families for the lunar New Year.

But it may already be too late. Cases are now being reported beyond China, with six suspected in the UK. With large numbers of Chinese students in Britain, health officials here need to be on top of their game to prevent the infection jumping into the wider population. The virus, which attacks the respiratory system, is thought to have killed at least 20 people so far.

Given recent experiences with Sars and swine flu, both identified as global health emergencies, this particular scare is likely to abate if the right action is taken swiftly enough. But it is a reminder that amid all the current doom-mongering about climate change, this is not the greatest threat to humanity which has, after all, survived ice ages and warmer weather in the past.

A much more likely deliverer of mankind’s coup

de grâce will be a germ. The Black Death in the 14th century wiped out half of Europe’s population. The Spanish flu pandemic of 1919 killed more people than died in the First World War and affected the young in particular.

An irrational animus to vaccinations has grown among some sections of the population, risking the herd immunity that protects everyone. Moreover, the developing resistance of bacteria to overprescribed antibiotics is a crisis waiting to happen. The current fixation on climate risks distracting us from an even greater, imminent menace.