Nojoud Faqerah

Editors, We thank Ingrosso et al. for their letter1 and interest in our review article that summarised the interactions between diet and Escherichia coli in inflammatory bowel disease.2 We agree with the authors that the role of E. coli, perhaps the best-studied microbial species, has been associated with various other non-communicable diseases including colorectal cancer and cardiovascular disease.

1 INTRODUCTION Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), collectively known as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), are characterised by a complex interaction between host immunity, genetic risk, intestinal microbiota and environmental factors.1, 2 The prevalence of IBD is more common in westernised countries in North America, Northern Europe and Oceania, but disease incidence is increasing in low- and medium-income societies in economic growth.1, 3, 4 This rapid increase in the...