Whipple's disease Whipple's disease Whipple's disease is a rare, systemic infectious disease caused by the bacterium "Tropheryma whipplei". First described by George Hoyt Whipple in 1907 and commonly considered a gastrointestinal disorder, Whipple's disease primarily causes malabsorption but may affect any part of the body including the heart, brain, joints, skin, lungs and the eyes. Weight loss, diarrhea, joint pain, and arthritis are common presenting symptoms, but the presentation can be highly variable and approximately 15% of patients do not have these classic signs and symptoms. Whipple's disease is significantly more common in men, with 87% of the patients being male. When
Citrus stubborn disease Citrus stubborn disease The Citrus stubborn disease is a plant disease affecting species in the genus "Citrus". "Spiroplasma citri", a Mollicute bacterium species, is the causative agent of the disease. It is present in the phloem of the affected plant and transmitted by several leafhoppers including "Circulifer tenellus" (beet leafhopper) and "Scaphytopius nitridus" in citrus-growing regions of California and Arizona and "Circulifer haematoceps" in the Mediterranean region. The host most notably affected is sweet orange but the bacterium can also infect weeds such as periwinkle ("Vinca rosea") and London rocket ("Sisymbrium irio"). Yellowed plants of Chinese cabbage and pak-choi ("Brassica