Whipple's disease, a rare malabsorption syndrome of late diagnosis

Whipple's disease is a rare, chronic bacterial illness with multisystemic involvement, caused by Tropheryma whipplei. Due to it's multiform presentation and rarity it is often misdiagnosed. The standard method concerning diagnosis is the detection of PAS (periodic acid- Shiff) positive macrophages in affected tissues.Immunohistochemical staining and PCR (polymerase chain reaction) increase the sensitivity and specificity of conventional methods. Long term antibiotic therapy provides a favourable outcome in the majority of cases. The autors describe a case of a patient with Whipple's disease in a progressive stage.