The phrase "deadly plague" refers to a highly contagious and fatal disease that can cause a large number of deaths within a population. Full definition
Batman Christian Bale stars in new take on Moses as he rises up against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses, freeing 600,000 slaves and thus the cycle of deadly plagues begins. (heavy.com)
The rise of modern, deadly plagues such as AIDS and SARS is particularly devastating because the «golden age of immunization during the last half century gave us a sense of triumphalism about infectious diseases,» says Stephen S. Morse, a Columbia University biologist and cofounder of ProMed, a global program for monitoring emerging infectious diseases. (discovermagazine.com)
About five years ago, I came across a newspaper article that listed the five most deadly plagues of all time and the 1918 flu epidemic was one of them. (bookbrowse.com)