Could happen

Following WWII, the western world experienced an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity, scientific and medical discovery and, in many places, more equality for diverse populations. This came to a sudden end when the world was plunged into decades of darkness as the result of a pandemic which killed millions, decimated economies and destroyed society and wiped out the advances of the previous 80 years.  More tragic, however, was the fact that those parts of the world which, at the time still struggled with war, poverty, disease and lack of equality, suffered even more.

                                                  World History 101, 2150