Dear Editor:

Why are so many old buildings in our town being torn down to put up newer, more modern-looking constructions? It’s absolutely outrageous! Beautiful old homes and other buildings are constantly being demolished with little or no regard as to what’s being lost. Once this magnificent architecture is gone, there will be no way to get it back. This kind of destruction is a plague upon our town and society as a whole, but no one seems to put a stop to it.

Very truly yours,

Ronald McCoy
-----------------------------
“This kind of destruction is a plague upon our town and society as a whole, but no one seems to put a stop to it.”

Without changing the meaning of the sentence, which word can be used to replace “plague” in the sentence?

A) plague
B) cold
C) infection
D) epidemic