Clustering of Crohn's Disease in a Cotswold Village

The first large cluster of patients with Crohn's disease, identifiedin the parish of Blockley, Gloucestershire is reported. Twelvepatients with Crohn's disease have been identified of whom onlytwo (a father and daughter) are known to be related. The ageand sex distribution and macroscopic site of disease at diagnosisis similar to that expected in an unselected series. The identificationof such a cluster suggests that environmental factors may beimportant in pathogenesis.