Editorial

The study of already known or potential zoonoses has always been one of the major concerns in veterinary medicine. Moreover, since the etiological agent of BSE was found to infect man, the search for infectious agents in animals as potential source of severe diseases in man has been intensified. Following this trend, even infectious agents which were previously suspected as zoonotic are recently reexamined. The Retroviral Bovine Leukemia Virus is an example of an agent which has been currently reexamined as a potential cause for malignancy in man. This topic will be thoroughly discussed in a coming issue. This issue includes a review concerning the role of the etiological agent of bovine paratubercolosis, Mycobacterium avium ssp. Paratubercolosis(MAP) , in Chrone’s disease in man. The potential connection between MAP and Chrone’s desease is being evaluated using clinical, laboratory, and scientific findings documented in the professional literature. The majority of the documented data does not support the hypothesis that Chrone’s disease is caused by MAP. Nevertheless, there are quite few scientific reports showing an apparent linkage between Chrone’s disease and MAP. It seems that to date no conclusive answer can be drawn on this subject.
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