plague

a serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal

any epidemic disease with a high death rate

a swarm of insects that attack plants; "a plague of grasshoppers"

any large scale calamity (especially when thought to be sent by God)

an annoyance; "those children are a damn plague"

cause to suffer a blight; "Too much rain may blight the garden with mold"

annoy continually or chronically; "He is known to harry his staff when he is overworked"; "This man harasses his female co-workers"