The Australian and New Zealand Agency for Food Security (FSANZ) has published a report on the relationship between Johne's disease in ruminants caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis ( MAP ), and the disease of Crohn's , which affects humans and their incidence is increasing worldwide. FSNAZ Agency presents a series of arguments for or against the theory based on the MAP is the causative pathogen of Crohn's disease. However, the Agency recommends further research in this area.
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These images show the granulomatous lesions of the ileum of a cow affected with Johne's disease (top) and a person with Crohn's disease (bottom).
The possibility that paratuberculosis may be a zoonosis has caused the importance of this disease has increased in recent years, which also justifies the need to implement a surveillance system. The cause of CD have not yet been demonstrated, but the similarity of symptoms and suspect injuries have done that may be caused by MAP. So far this organism has only been isolated from a case of Crohn once, and the results of previous studies are inconsistent. Another possible response is positive evidence of Crohn's patients to treatment with rifabutin and macrolide used in the treatment of tuberculosis intestine.
Today is generating controversy that the likely route of transmission of MAP to people may be through food such as milk and meat. It appears that the heat treatment is subjected to pasteurization milk is not sufficient to destroy the bacterium, which has been isolated several times. On the other hand, the meat may be contaminated during processing, but in the terminal stages of paratuberculosis happens systemic dissemination of the bacteria, but in the latter case the animal suffering cachexia makes their meat unfit for consumption. Another possible source of infection for humans may be contaminated drinking water, as the chlorination and purification treatments are unable to destroy the MAP. People in contact with infected animals would also be at risk of contracting the disease. Despite all this, it has been suggested that in the development of Crohn's disease there is also a genetic component.
