Mucosal Flora in Crohn ́s diseases and ulcerative colitis

Until the late 19 century, microbes were the major cause of death in humans. Ironically, the infectious nature of most diseases was not recognized. There was little treatment available and was mostly focused on strengthening the general immunity. This changed with the identification of pathogens by Pasteur and Koch. The knowledge about microbial infections quickly expanded and reduced dramatically the impact of pathogens on humanity. However these advances referred exclusively to mono-infections. The situation in medicine stayed unchanged for polymicrobial diseases. A polymicrobial involvement is suspected in caries, pharyngo-tonsillitis, vaginosis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colon cancer; Research data on coronary heart disease, stroke and autoimmune diseases suggest that pathogens trigger the illness, however positive proof and understanding of causality are lacking. The current medical strategies for handling of these diseases are therefore directed toward managing symptoms, conditioning immunity, and the search for the genetic background.