Perinatal measles infection and subsequent Crohn's disease

Epidemiology of inflammatory bowel diseases: New insights from a French population-based registry (EPIMAD)

“…La fréquence des formes familiales de MICI et la concordance de 50-60% pour la MC observée chez des jumeaux monozygotes, illustrent l'importance des facteurs génétiques (42,43 Le rôle du virus de la rougeole dans la MC a été suggéré par une étude Suédoise montrant un parallèle entre l'augmentation de l'incidence de la MC dans ce pays dans les années 50 et la survenue d'épidémies de rougeole (115). Cette hypothèse a été renforcée par la description par les mêmes auteurs de cas de MC sévère chez des enfants dont la mère avait eu la rougeole pendant la grossesse (116).…”

No evidence of persistent mumps virus infection in inflammatory bowel disease

“…1 In this regard, a series of studies by Wakefield and colleagues [2][3][4][5][6] claimed a close link between measles virus and Crohn's disease on the basis of epidemiological and immunohistochemical findings, but this measles hypothesis is controversial 7 because the measles virus genome was not detected in patients with Crohn's disease, [8][9][10][11] and the measles antibody recognised the host protein as well as the measles virus. 12 13 The latest cohort study 14 from the same group (Montgomery et al) put forward another possibility: a close relationship between mumps virus and IBD-namely, that mumps virus infection before the age of two years was a risk factor for ulcerative colitis, and mumps and measles virus infections in the same year of life were significantly associated with IBD.…”

Measles virus as a risk for inflammatory bowel disease: an unusually tolerant approach

“…Ekbom et al observed that perinatal viral infection, in particular with measles virus, was a strong risk factor for the development of Crohn's disease in later life (5,6). For those with Crohn's disease who were born in Sweden in the 1940s and early 1950s-for whom a striking cohort effect was detected (16)-there was a significant excess number of Crohn's disease patients who were born in the 3 months after a measles epidemic (6).…”

“…For those with Crohn's disease who were born in Sweden in the 1940s and early 1950s-for whom a striking cohort effect was detected (16)-there was a significant excess number of Crohn's disease patients who were born in the 3 months after a measles epidemic (6). In utero exposure to measles virus was also identified as a risk for later Crohn's disease in those born during this period in the Uppsala region of Sweden (17).…”