Cryptic crossword clue
The old man touching bird — he is catching that disease 9

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word HEPATITIS

I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
H
E
P
A
T
I
T
I
S

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 = hepatitis.
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 HEPATITIS mean?

HEPATITIS noun
  1. Inflammation of the liver, sometimes caused by a viral infection.

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