In the study of 36 babies, half of which had colic, researchers found the bacterium and gut inflammation in the intestines.

'We believe that the bacterium may be sparking an inflammatory reaction, causing the gut inflammation,' said Rhoads.

'Inflammation in the gut of colicky infants closely compared to levels in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Colic could prove to be a precursor to other gastrointestinal conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease and allergic gastro-enteropathies.'

'During our study, we also found that the babies that didn't have colic had more types of bacteria in their intestines. The presence of more bacteria may indicate that specific bacterial species (phylotypes) are beneficial to humans,' Rhoads said.

These findings were published in the online edition of the Journal of Paediatrics.