all my neighbours are getting UC!

Elaine,
From what I know there is a very high incidence of UC in Canada, but I have never heard of that many cases in one street.
Yes, it is freaky.
I would talk to your doctor/surgeon and ask for a study not just on your street but on the neighbouring streets as well as in the local schools etc.
Not sure what the 'contagion' element could be...Stress, lifestyle, genetics, bacteria, virus...there are combinations of events that can weaken the system and open the door to
medical issues.
The first step in my opinion is to request a study be done on the frequency compared to the national/regional average.
Time to set up a support group on your street too.
Sharon

Hi Elaine,

Hope you are doing well. Did you know that canada has the highest rate of IBD in the world, and that Ontario has the highest rate in canada?

I've read a few studies about it on-line, but they never really state why.

Guess it s too late for you to move

Take care,
C-jay

I never knew of anyone with IBD or a pouch until it happened to me. Now, it comes up pretty frequently and I think that is because it's loosing it's stigma as a non-topic for discussion. The less afraid or embarrassed you are to share your health history with people.... the more people you will find who have a lot in common with you.

I've heard of studies showing (tentatively?) that a lack of Vitamin D can contribute to IBD...

Canadians, northerners ... less sunshine ... could be a link. BTW, I'm from northern Wisconsin. It's my understanding that Minnesotans and the rest of us from up north do have a higher incidence of IBD.

Less sunlight and vitamin D is one theory, and another theory is that the cold weather creates a more sterile environment in which the immune system is not as well conditioned at recognizing and reacting to bacteria as in warmer climates, resulting in an irregular response. This is basically the "lack of exercise for the immune system" theory.

Years ago I dated a woman who moved from the Seattle, Washington area to Connecticut and she suffered from Seasonal Affective Disorder. I had never heard of it, but basically it is depression and mood disorder related to lack of sunlight and Vitamin D which occurs in northern and rainy climates. She was getting treatment for it, which included moving away from the offending climate, getting sunlight (30 minutes a day are necessary for proper functioning) and Vitamin D - rate should be close to 50, 30 would be considered too low.

None of these theories have been validated but it's fact that Canada and other nations in the northern hemispheres have the highest IBD rates in the world.

There's no evidence of an infectious or local environmental cause of UC. On the other hand, random distributions don't look *anything* like evenly spread distributions, so pseudo-outbreaks are exactly what happens when things are truly random. There are lots of streets with no UC at all, and that's also to be expected.

And as Lesandiego says, you won't even know about it unless it's acceptable to discuss with a neighbor.

I agree with Scott about random distributions. I'm thinking back decades to when I studied about them at the university. It is interesting about the weather aspect too.

I didn't know of anyone with IBD until I was diagnosed! Since I've discussed my disease with others I've discovered others with UC or Crohns. The UPS driver, at my office and at home, told me he use to have UC but had an operation and was cured. I don't think he had a j-pouch because he said surgery instead of surgeries. He retired before I needed mine. He's the only person I've ever known personally that's had our surgery.

I can see how finding this out would make you all question if there was something environmentally causing it.

My neighbors who moved here from NJ have the dad and two of the four kids in the family with Crohn's. The dad's sister has UC. Then there's my daughter and me two doors down with our IBD issues.

So that's 5 people on 1 block with IBD.

Two get Remicade, three get Humira.

We all have Eastern European backgrounds/history. The dad in the family is of Jewish Ukranian descent (mom is not). I'm of Polish and Ukranian descent (also Italian), though not Jewish that I know directly in a religious way, possibly ethnically.