n :  a destructive contagious disease of various mammals and birds that is caused by a bacterium of the genus Erysipelothrix (E. rhusiopathiae), that may occur in an acute highly fatal septicemic form or take a chronic course marked by endocarditis, arthritis, or hives, and that is of esp. economic importance in swine and domesticated turkeys - called also erysipelas  .
 
 
 
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