tropical sprue
Last reviewed 01/2018
Tropical sprue manifests itself as a malabsorption syndrome, with marked stomatitis, diarrhoea, and anaemia.
It is almost exclusively seen in the tropics.
Tropical sprue is of unknown aetiology, although there are suggestions that it may be caused by enterotoxigenic E.coli.
It has a curious geographic distribution: although more common in the Caribbean, it has not been reported in Jamaica, and it does not occur in Africa south of the Sahara. In certain tropical areas, as in South India, the disease has been known to occur in endemic form.
Treatment: tetracycline 250 mg qds and folic acid 15 mg daily PO may be of help.