Pestilence

Pestilence is a word that is used for any highly infectious disease that can cause an epidemic or even a pandemic. It is commonly used for parasites too, but only when they cause large scale sickness or death, such as the Guinea worm.

The word meant the disease plague, which is called pestis in Latin.
It was used for the Black Death as well, an epidemic of the 14th century that killed Millions of people in Europe.

Related pages
Disease
Epidemic
Pandemic
List of historical plagues

Other websites
Article in International Herald Tribune 22 March 2006, describing Guinea worm as a pestilence  (Linked 23 April 2006)

Category:Infectious diseases