Researchers at Cornell University have conducted research that indicates Crohn’s Disease can be caused by unpathogenic E. coli. Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory intestinal disorder that affects one in 1,000 people in Europe and North America.
A team of Cornell University scientists from the College of Veterinary Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences have discovered that a novel group of E. coli bacteria – containing genes similar to those described in uropathogenic and avian pathogenic E. coli and enteropathogenic bacteria such as salmonella, cholera, bubonic plague – is associated with intestinal inflammation in patients with Crohn’s disease in their research paper published July 12 by "The ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology."