Inequality is catching

Data from New Zealand suggest that there are socioeconomic inequalities in the burden of serious infectious disease. The study looked at hospital admissions for infectious and non-infectious disease and found clear ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in infectious disease risk. Results, showing that admissions for infectious disease increased over the period studied, also call into question the theory that in developed societies the health burden shifts towards chronic disease. A study of socioeconomic inequalities in mortality from pandemic influenza in England during the 2009 outbreak shows a similar bias towards poorer populations, with people in the most deprived quintile being three times more likely to die. Some other studies take a look at inequalities in the uptake of influenza vaccines amongst the general population in the US , at risk groups the UK and amongst dementia sufferers in England and Wales.