black disease

American  

noun

Veterinary Pathology.

1. an acute, usually fatal disease of sheep caused by general intoxication from Clostridium novyi, an anaerobic organism that multiplies in parts of the liver damaged by the common liver fluke.

---

black disease British  

noun

1. vet science an infectious necrotic hepatitis in sheep and occasionally cattle caused by to toxins produced by infection with species of Clostridial . Secondary to liver fluke infestation, the disease is characterized by sudden death. So-called because of the black discolouration of subcutaneous tissues due to congestion and haemorrhage seen at post-mortem

---

Etymology

Origin of black disease

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

“As a child I had asthma, and I remember my parents saying it was a black disease, because that’s what we thought, growing up,” Busby said.

From Washington Post