Detection and Isolation of Mycobacterium avium Subspecies paratuberculosis from Intestinal Mucosal Biopsies of Patients with and without Crohn's Disease in Sardinia

Abstract

Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis was detected in the majority of Sardinian Crohn's disease patients. The finding of the organism colonizing a proportion of people without Crohn's disease is consistent with what occurs in other conditions caused by a primary bacterial pathogen in susceptible hosts.