Cryptic crossword clue
Disease starts to spread – cases are being ignored, everyone’s scared 7

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word SCABIES

I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "disease" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case disease = scabies.
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 SCABIES mean?

SCABIES noun
  1. An infestation of parasitic mites, Sarcoptes scabiei, causing intense itching caused by the mites burrowing into the skin of humans and other animals. It is easily transmissible from human to human; secondary skin infection may occur.

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