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Whipple Disease

By

The Manual's Editorial Staff

Reviewed/Revised Jul 2022 | Modified Sep 2022
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Your small intestine is where food is absorbed.

Malabsorption Overview of Malabsorption Food you eat has to be digested before it can go into your body. Digestion breaks food down into its separate parts: Proteins Fats Carbohydrates Proteins, fats, and carbohydrates are nutrients... read more is when you have trouble absorbing the nutrients in your food. Nutrients are things that provide nutrition to your body. They include protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals.

What is Whipple disease?

Whipple disease is a rare infection that damages the lining of your small intestine. You have trouble breaking down (digesting) food and absorbing nutrients.

The Small Intestine
VIDEO

Whipple disease may affect other organs too, such as your heart, lungs, brain, joints, and eyes.

  • Symptoms can include diarrhea, swollen and painful joints, weight loss, and belly pain

  • Antibiotics can treat the infection, but the disease can come back

  • Without treatment, Whipple disease can be deadly

What are the symptoms of Whipple disease?

The main symptoms of Whipple disease are:

  • Swollen, painful joints

  • Diarrhea (frequent, loose, or watery stool)

  • Belly pain

  • Weight loss

Other symptoms include:

How can doctors tell if I have Whipple disease?

Doctors diagnose Whipple disease by finding the bacteria that causes the disease in a biopsy sample taken from your small intestine. With a biopsy, doctors take a small sample of tissue using instruments on the end of an endoscope (a flexible viewing tube) and then look at the sample under a microscope.

How do doctors treat Whipple disease?

Doctors treat Whipple disease with antibiotics for at least a year. The disease can sometimes come back after treatment.

If untreated, Whipple disease gets worse and can be deadly.

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