Patient groups and the dairy industry are calling attention to a disease that affects 1 in every 5 herds of cattle in the U.S. and is theorized to have a connection to Crohn's disease.
Johne's (YO-nees) disease is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium paratuberculosis and is estimated to cost the dairy industry $200 million a year. Now the National Milk Producers Federation is requesting $1.3 billion from Congress in order to wipe out the disease. Eradicating Johne's would entail testing to identify diseased cattle in order to destroy them.
An infected cow exhibits symptoms of diarrhea and weight loss as the bacteria attack her ileum. Rarely fever or abdominal pain (difficult to ascertain in animals) are also symptoms. As the disease progresses, the rest of the digestive tract is affected. Eventually the bacteria spread to lymph nodes and into the blood stream. When an infected cow is discovered, she is often sent to slaughter--that is, turned into steaks and hamburger.
The bacteria causing Johne's is shed by the infected cow into her milk. The current pasteurization method is based on High Temperature, Short Time (HTST). This means that the milk is heated to 72º Celsius (162º F) for 15 seconds.1 The time period of 15 seconds has been shown to be insufficient to kill all of the paratuberculosis bacteria.2 As a result, paratuberculosis could live through the pasteurization process and be in cartons of milk on grocery store shelves. In fact, researchers found that up to 25% of milk on store shelves in central and southern England contained paratuberculosis DNA.3
Johne's disease is not limited to cattle. It can also infect other animals such as sheep, primates, and according to Scottish scientists, rabbits, foxes, stoats, weasels, mice, and voles. It is theorized that these animals contract the disease from infected livestock, but it is not known if they can pass the bacteria back to livestock.
A controversial theory is that paratuberculosis can also cause Crohn's disease in humans. In 1984, unclassified Mycobacterium strains were isolated from 3 different Crohn's patients.4 In 1991 it became possible to positively identify these three strains as all belonging to M. paratuberculosis.5 In 1992 another study was conducted on intestinal tissue removed during surgery from 40 Crohn's, 23 ulcerative colitis, and 40 non-IBD patients. 65% of the Crohn's patient samples contained M. paratuberculosis, contrasting with only 12.5% of non-IBD patients. The researchers conclude that M. paratuberculosis does "play an etiological role in some cases of Crohn's disease".6
In 1998 the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) held a workshop to take recommendations for further research into the link between M. paratuberculosis and Crohn's disease. The participants agreed that more scientific evidence is needed to either prove or disprove that M. paratuberculosis can cause disease in humans. Several points for further research were identified.
The patient advocacy group, Paratuberculosis Awareness and Research Association, Inc (PARA), has played a significant role in bringing attention to this issue. In March 2001, Cheryl Miller, Co-executive Director of PARA, before the U.S. Congress House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education asking them to set aside money for the purpose of researching Crohn's disease.
These new developments discovery of a gene that appears to increase the risk for Crohn's disease are breaking new ground in IBD research. Scientists are finally beginning to put together the pieces to solve puzzle of the cause and nature of Crohn's disease.
References:
1. Encyclopedia Britannica
2. Grant IR, Ball HJ and MT Rowe. "Effect of higher pasteurization temperatures, and longer holding times at 72 degrees C, on the inactivation of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in milk." Letters in Applied Microbiology. 28(6):461-5, 1999 Jun.
3. Millar D, et al. "IS900 PCR to Detect Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in Retail Supplies of Whole Pasteurized Cow's Milk in England and Wales." Applied and Environmental Microbiology 62(1996):3446-52.
4. Chiodini, R. J., H. J. Van Kruiningen, R. S. Merkal, W. R. Thayer Jr., and J. A. Coutu. 1984. "Characteristics of an unclassified Mycobacterium species isolated from patients with Crohn's disease." J. Clin. Microbiol. 20:966-971.
5. Moss MT; Green EP; Tizard ML; Malik ZP; Hermon-Taylor J. "Specific detection of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis by DNA hybridisation with a fragment of the insertion element IS900." Gut. 32 (4): 395-8, 1991 Apr.
6. Sanderson JD, Moss MT, Tizard MLV, Hermon-Taylor. "Mycobacterium paratuberculosis DNA in Crohn's disease tissue." Gut. 1992;33:890-6.
