Tropical sprue

Tropical sprue is a malabsorption disease commonly found in tropical regions, marked with abnormal flattening of the villi and inflammation of the lining of the small intestine.It differs significantly from coeliac sprue. It appears to be a more severe form of environmental enteropathy. Tropical sprue is a malabsorption disease commonly found in tropical regions, marked with abnormal flattening of the villi and inflammation of the lining of the small intestine.It differs significantly from coeliac sprue. It appears to be a more severe form of environmental enteropathy. The illness usually starts with an attack of acute diarrhoea, fever and malaise following which, after a variable period, the patient settles into the chronic phase of diarrhoea, steatorrhoea, weight loss, anorexia, malaise, and nutritional deficiencies.The symptoms of tropical sprue are: Left untreated, nutrient and vitamin deficiencies may develop in patients with tropical sprue. These deficiencies may have these symptoms: The cause of tropical sprue is not known. It may be caused by persistent bacterial, viral, amoebal, or parasitic infections. Folic acid deficiency, effects of malabsorbed fat on intestinal motility, and persistent small intestinal bacterial overgrowth may combine to cause the disorder. A link between small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and tropical sprue has been proposed to be involved in the aetiology of post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).