The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word CHOLERA
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
C
H
O
L
E
R
A
More clues leading to the result CHOLERA
- Depression engulfs husband with chronic ear infection
- Orally, one catches disease
- Rent in credit with a complaint
- Gap right in the middle of California causes complaint
- Nasty complaint impeding cavity? Bend over!
- Depression admitted by nipper after contracting disease
- Caught artist concealing depression and sickness
- Infection around spot needs cream applied regularly
- Puncture in dodgy car could prove fatal
- What’s produced by injection into stuff, endless disease
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "infection" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case infection = cholera.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does CHOLERA mean?
CHOLERA noun- Any of several acute infectious diseases of humans and domestic animals, caused by certain strains of the Vibrio cholerae bacterium through ingestion of contaminated water or food, usually marked by severe gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, and dehydration.