WELL, THAT’S ENCOURAGING: Bubonic Plague Found in Oregon Teenager. “Plague is rare and treatable with antibiotics if caught early, but federal authorities have been puzzled by an increase in cases this year. . . . In recent decades, an average of seven human plague cases have been reported each year, according to the disease centers. Since April 1, there have been at least 11 cases in the United States of plague in humans, three of them fatal, affecting residents of Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, New Mexico, and Oregon, the C.D.C. said in August.” Is it just me, or are we seeing a more general resurgence of diseases we’d nearly forgotten about? And, if so, why?