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Multicenter Study
. 2010 Feb;16(2):258-63.
doi: 10.3201/eid1602.090610.

Tropheryma whipplei in patients with pneumonia

Sabri Bousbia  1 , Laurent Papazian, Jean Pierre Auffray, Florence Fenollar, Claude Martin, Wenjun Li, Laurent Chiche, Bernard La Scola, Didier Raoult
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Tropheryma whipplei in patients with pneumonia

Sabri Bousbia et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2010 Feb.

Abstract

Tropheryma whipplei is the etiologic pathogenic agent of Whipple disease (WD), characterized by various clinical signs, such as diarrhea, weight loss, lymphadenopathy, and polyarthritis. PCR-based methods for diagnosis of WD have been developed. T. whipplei has been identified in saliva and stool samples from patients with WD and from healthy persons. T. whipplei DNA has also been found in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples of a child with pneumonia. We detected DNA of T. whipplei in 6 (3%) of 210 BAL samples collected in intensive care units by using 16S rDNA and specific quantitative PCR. We identified 4 novel genotypes of T. whipplei. In 1 case, T. whipplei was the only bacterium; in 4 others, it was associated with buccal flora. We suggest that T. whipplei should be investigated as an etiologic agent of pneumonia.

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Figure
Figure
Chest radiograph of patient no. 5, who had community-acquired pneumonia associated with Tropheryma whipplei.
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