Cryptic crossword clue
Sort of bacteria making one man get ill in serious case 4-8

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 13 letter word GRAM-NEGATIVE

I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
G
R
A
M
-
N
E
G
A
T
I
V
E

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Sort of bacteria/Sort of bacteria" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case sort of bacteria/sort of bacteria = gram-negative.
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 GRAM-NEGATIVE mean?

GRAM-NEGATIVE adjective
  1. (of a bacterium) that is not stained violet by Gram's method

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