What causes and how to prevent contagion by whipple disease

Whipple's disease is a rare and chronic bacterial infection, which usually affects the small intestine and makes it difficult for food to absorb, causing symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain or weight loss.

This disease sets in slowly, and can also affect other organs of the body and cause joint pain and other rarer symptoms, such as changes in movement and cognitive disorders, due to brain impairment, and chest pain, shortness of breath and palpitations, due to the involvement of the heart, for example.

While Whipple's disease can be life-threatening as it progresses and worsens, it can be treated with antibiotics prescribed by the gastroenterologist or general practitioner.

Main symptoms

The most common symptoms of Whipple's disease are related to the gastrointestinal system and include:

• Constant diarrhea; Abdominal pain; Cramps that may worsen after meals; Presence of fat in the stools; Weight loss.

Symptoms usually worsen very slowly over time, and may last for months or years. As the disease progresses, it can affect other parts of the body and cause other symptoms such as joint pain, cough, fever and enlarged lymph nodes.

The most serious form, however, happens when neurological symptoms appear, such as cognitive changes, eye movements, changes in movement and behavior, seizures and speech difficulties, or when cardiac symptoms appear, such as chest pain, shortness of breath and palpitations, due to changes in cardiac function.

Although the doctor may suspect the disease due to symptoms and medical history, the diagnosis can only be confirmed with a biopsy of the intestine, usually removed during a colonoscopy, or of other affected organs.

What causes Whipple's disease

Whipple's disease is caused by a bacterium, known as Tropheryma whipplei , which causes small lesions inside the intestine that hinder the work of absorbing minerals and nutrients, leading to weight loss. In addition, the intestine is also unable to properly absorb fat and water and, therefore, diarrhea is common.

In addition to the intestine, the bacteria can spread and reach other organs of the body such as the brain, heart, joints and eyes, for example.

How the treatment is done

The treatment of Whipple's disease is usually initiated with an injectable antibiotic, such as Ceftriaxone or Penicillin, for 15 days, then it is necessary to maintain oral antibiotics, such as Sulfametoxazol-Trimetoprima, Chloramphenicol or Doxycycline, for example, during 1 or 2 years, to completely eliminate bacteria from the body.

Although the treatment takes a long time, most symptoms disappear within 1 to 2 weeks after the start of treatment, however, the use of the antibiotic must be maintained for the entire period indicated by the doctor.

In addition to antibiotics, the intake of probiotics is essential to regulate the functioning of the intestine and improve the absorption of nutrients. It may also be necessary to supplement vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin D, A, K and B vitamins, as well as calcium, for example, because the bacterium hinders the absorption of food and can cause cases of malnutrition.

How to avoid contagion by the disease

To prevent this infection it is important to just drink drinking water and wash food well before preparing it, as the bacteria that causes the disease are usually found in soil and contaminated water.

However, there are many people who have the bacteria in the body, but never develop the disease.