Whipple disease is an infectious disease caused by Tropheryma whippelii bacteria. Malabsorption is a fundamental manifestation of this bacterial infection, which is a cause for many of its symptoms.
Because Whipple disease is so rare very little is known about the transmission and risk factors of this infectious disease. To date, the infection primarily affects white males in their middle ages from rural areas.
Whipple disease can affect many areas of your body, thus its considered a systemic infection. As such, it causes a broad range of possible signs and symptoms, like:
- fever
- ptosis
- ataxia
- cough
- uveitis
- edema
- ascites
- arthritis
- cheilitis
- glossitis
- seizures
- anorexia
- gingivitis
- cachexia
- arthralgia
- weakness
- chest pain
- weight loss
- blurry vision
- hypotension
- night sweats
- memory loss
- severe anemia
- abdominal pain
- mental changes
- chronic diarrhea
- hyperpigmentation
- swollen lymph nodes
- gastrointestinal bleeding
- fatty stools ~ steatorrhea
A number of these symptoms are due to malabsorption caused malnutrition and they’ll typically come about slowly.
Treatment for Whipple disease is antibiotics to wipe out your bacteria infection. And you may need to take it for a year or longer. For your nutritional deficiencies from malabsorption you’ll likely need dietary supplements.
Quick recovery and lasting remission can be expected, but a relapse is not uncommon. Without treatment, Whipple disease is usually fatal.