The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word RICKETS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
R
I
C
K
E
T
S
More clues leading to the result RICKETS
- Richard set out children's disease
- Boobs — complaint
- Head of sport’s dismissed disorder
- Disease caught off insects
- Topless sport, son? It might give you bow legs
- Decapitated insects with disease
- Affliction of headless insects
- Disease caused by insects? Not originally
- Illness is caught off some bugs …
- Topless sport’s producing illness
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Illness" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case illness = rickets.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 RICKETS mean?
RICKETS noun- A disorder of infancy and early childhood caused by a deficiency of vitamin D, causing soft bones.