The Black Death is back, and so are these other diseases you thought were gone

For those of us who live in the sanitized safety of our shiny, seemingly germ-free world of hand sanitizers, wet wipes and anti-bacterial everything, it's sometimes hard to imagine diseases that have been all but eradicated in the last few decades ever making a comeback.

At the beginning of the 20th century, life expectancy in the United States was 47 years, and today's newborns are expected to live 79 years.


However, in recent years, some of the deadly diseases that we thought were the stuff of history books are back with a vengeance in many parts of the world — and not just in developing countries.

Why are preventable diseases making a comeback?

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So far, only one human disease has been completely eradicated: small pox. Now, we find ourselves battling outbreaks of diseases we thought we had defeated years ago. Here are some of them,,,

The Black Death is back, and so are these other diseases you thought were gone