Whipple's disease is a rare infectious disorder caused by the bacterium Tropheryma whippeli . It primarily causes the malabsorption of nutrients from the gastrointestinal tract. However, it can also affect other systems like the cardiovascular, vascular, central nervous system, joints, eyes, and lungs in infected individuals. The disease is also known as intestinal lipodystrophy as it interferes with the body’s ability to metabolize fats 1 . Epidemiology The disease is much more frequent in males than in females (4:1) and is associated with the HLA B27 haplotype 1 .
Most cases have been found in North America and Europe 1 . A study from Italy suggests the prevalence of the disease in the general population to be 3/1,000,000 2 . Etiology Periodic acid-Schiff-positive (PAS), acid-fast negative and gram-positive rod-shaped bacillus: Tropheryma whippeli 1 . The bacteria occur in the…
