All five countries have rejigged their medical services and reined in their spending over the past decade, trying to cope with the rising costs of high-tech treatment and an ageing population.

ECONOMIST: Health

Rising treatment prices, an ageing population and ongoing fiscal austerity mean that it will have to change if it is to keep pace with expectations.

ECONOMIST: NHS reform

If, nevertheless, a wide range of diseases now put down to the general process of ageing do turn out to be infections, a new field of treatment will open.

ECONOMIST: Bugged by disease