In the neverending war between humans and microbes, the smaller of those two combatants is perpetually probing for the weakest link.
That could be a wet market in Wuhan where a virus jumps from a bat or a pangolin into people. It could be the gig economy in the US, where infected people might be too financially stretched to self-isolate and forgo two weeks’ pay. Or it could be a health system in an impoverished country, say in Africa, where testing is inadequate, doctors and nurses in short supply and hospitals at breaking point.
In the unfolding coronavirus drama, Africa has been the dog that doesn’t bark, or in this case perhaps the bat that doesn’t squeak. There have been relatively few reported cases. Egypt, where dozens of Nile cruise passengers are in quarantine, is the worst affected. About 10 other countries have confirmed cases. But that only makes just over 100 cases, mostly in north Africa, in a continent of 1.2bn people. Italy, with 60m people, has more than 12,000 cases. If the numbers are to be believed, Africa has been remarkably lucky. So far.