article
The case for an infectious etiology
Walter R. Thayera b c✉, Vikas Chitnavisb c d
- aDepartment of Gastroenterology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
- bDepartment of Gastroenterology, Brown University
- cthe Division of Gastroenterology, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island
- dDepartment of Gastroenterology, Brown University; and the Division of Gastroenterology, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island
- ✉Corresponding author
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Abstract
The infectious hypothesis for IBD is certainly not new. The evidence for an infectious agent is tantalizing but not yet convincing. A failure to demonstrate a specific agent in the inflammatory process could mean that many different organisms are involved, or several organisms that, by themselves, do not cause disease interact. All candidate organisms proposed thus far are compatible with either hypothesis. Nevertheless, interaction between an agent(s) in a host modified by immunologic and genetic factors is still an attractive hypothesis for the cause of these illnesses.