Gluten intolerance in one infant after a gut infection
What it found
One infant who could not handle gluten after a gut infection recovered fully on a gluten-free diet.
His gut lining returned to normal and stayed normal when he ate gluten again.
What they found
Studies in people
Gut damage after infection
A biopsy of the infant's small bowel showed severe flattening of the gut lining. This happened two months after a salmonella infection.
Response to gluten-free diet
The infant improved quickly once he started eating no gluten. He stayed on this diet for one year.
Gut healed on normal diet
After a year without gluten, a second biopsy showed his gut lining was normal. A third biopsy 16 months later, while eating a normal diet, was still normal.
What the authors conclude
- They suggest the infant had a temporary intolerance to gluten that followed his gut infection.
- They advise that improving on a gluten-free diet does not always mean someone has coeliac disease.
How it was done
The authors wanted to describe an infant who developed severe gut damage and swelling after a salmonella infection. They explored whether his reaction to gluten was permanent or temporary.
They followed one infant who had swelling from low protein two months after a salmonella gut infection. He ate a gluten-free diet for one year, then returned to a normal diet. Doctors took three small bowel biopsies over about two years.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This report follows only one infant. It cannot show how often temporary gluten problems happen after gut infections in other children or adults.
The paper
- Title
- Transient gluten intolerance
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Walker-Smith J (1970). Transient gluten intolerance. Archives of disease in childhood. doi:10.1136/adc.45.242.523PubMed 5506937DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error