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black disease

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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.
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Origin of black disease

First recorded in 1910–15
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for black disease

black disease

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
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012