Best Medicine Riddle (Punny)

[Otis]

Why was the clown quarantined?

_ i _ [imath]\;\;[/imath] _ _ _ g _ [imath]\;\;[/imath] w _ _ [imath]\;\;[/imath] _ n _ _ _ _ i _ u _

[imath]\;[/imath]

 

[lex]

his laugh was infectious?!

 

[Otis]

his laugh was infectious?!

We have a winner!



[imath]\;[/imath]

 

[lex]

Punny indeed!

 

[Dr.Peterson]

Why was the clown quarantined?

_ i _ [imath]\;\;[/imath] _ _ _ g _ [imath]\;\;[/imath] w _ _ [imath]\;\;[/imath] _ n _ _ _ _ i _ u _

[imath]\;[/imath]

I didn't figure this out the first time I saw it; but when I opened the page again after the answer was posted (without having looked at the answer itself!) I realized the answer immediately -- because that time I had paid attention to the title.

Sometimes you need to back up to see all the clues. (That can happen with answering students' questions, too; I often miss the title because of the way I come in.)