The fact that the differential diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease includes intestinal infections has been a source of much interest and clinical concern for many years. Since the recognition of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease as clinical entities, numerous attempts have been made to identify a specific organism resulting in the clinical and pathologic picture of inflammatory bowel disease.
The isolation, in 1984, of M. paratuberculosis initiated the current interest in and controversy about a mycobacterial etiology in Crohn's disease. The hypothesis that 'Crohn's disease is Johne's disease' has led to a number of efforts, world-wide, to determine whether or not mycobacteria are associated with Crohn's disease. The most active reserach groups have contributed to this book, describing their attempts to unravel the hypothesis, providing the reader with an up-to-date review of knowledge available up to Fall, 1992.
The book is based in part on presentations to the symposium on Crohn's disease held during European Digestive Disease Week, Amsterdam, 24 October 1992. The contributions have been especially updated for publication.