black disease: Meaning and Definition of

black' disease"

Pronunciation: [key]
— Vet. Pathol. Vet. Pathol.
  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.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.