Rich nations care for the old and genetically challenged: that's banging the dinner gong for novel and opportunistic pathogens. Then add in that our wealth also means we (or a significant percentage of us) can afford to travel great distances, go overseas, most of it in cramped hermetically sealed tubes. This is why meaningful comparisons of mortality between countries require some similarities in living standards, mobility, and methods of data gathering by health workers. I wanted to stop and comment on this, because it will be something to bear in mind as the popular media continues to bombard us with statistics, often poorly contextualized.
Been sayin that all along