duck sickness
noun
: a highly destructive form of botulism affecting especially wild ducks in areas of the western United States in which drought has caused decay of aquatic vegetation thereby permitting excessive multiplication of a form of botulinum bacterium (Clostridium botulinum type C) and spreading of its characteristic toxin in feeding areas
called also duck disease
Cite this Entry
“Duck sickness.” Merriam-Webster.com Medical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/duck%20sickness. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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