Study data from North Dakota State University provide new insights into epidemiology
2007 NOV 19 -- Investigators publish new data in the report 'Epidemiological evidence for Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis as a cause of Crohn's disease.' According to recent research published in the journal Epidemiology and Infection, "Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis is the causative agent of Johne's disease, a chronic enteritis in ruminants including cattle, sheep, goats, and farmed deer. Recently, this bacterium has received an increasingly wide interest because of a rapidly growing body of scientific evidence which suggests that human infection with this microorganism may be causing some, and possibly all, cases of Crohn's disease." "Recent studies have shown that a high percentage of people with Crohn's disease are infected with M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis; whether the association of this bacterium and Crohn's disease is causal or coincidental is not known. Crohn's disease is a gastrointestinal disease in humans with similar histopathological findings to those observed in the paucibacillary form of Johne's disease in cattle. The search for risk factors in Crohn's disease has been frustrating. However, epidemiologists have gathered enough information that points to an association between M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis and Crohn's disease," wrote J.C. Uzoigwe and colleagues, North Dakota State University. The researchers concluded: "This paper reviews epidemiological models of disease causation, the major philosophical doctrines about causation, the established epidemiological criteria for causation, and the currently known epidemiological evidence of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis as a possible cause of Crohn's disease." Uzoigwe and colleagues published their study in Epidemiology and Infection (Epidemiological evidence for Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis as a cause of Crohn's disease. Epidemiology and Infection, 2007;135(7):1057-68). For additional information, contact J.C. Uzoigwe, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dept. of Chemistry, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105 USA.. The publisher's contact information for the journal Epidemiology and Infection is: Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th St., New York, NY 10011-4211, USA. Keywords: United States, Fargo, Crohn Disease, Epidemiology, Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal, Mycobacterium. This article was prepared by Gastroenterology Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Gastroenterology Week via NewsRx.com.
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