Whipple’s disease is a rare systemic disorder caused by the Gram positive bacterium Tropheryma whippelii (T. whippelii). Although the initial report was characterized by a malabsorption syndrome involving the small intestine, this malady can affect the joints, central nervous system, cardiovascular system, and eyes. The ocular manifestations are similarly uncommon (approximately 5 % of patients with Whipple’s disease will have ocular involvement) but can include vitritis, retinal vasculitis, choroiditis, ophthalmoplegia, and keratitis [1].

The first case report of this entity in the medical literature was in 1895, but this was not recognized as a specific disease until George Hoyt Whipple described a patient with diarrhea secondary to malabsorption, weight loss, migratory polyarthritis, and mesenteric lymphadenopathy in 1907 [2]. The disorder is exceptionally rare with fewer than 1000 cases reported world-wide. The condition appears to be associated with human leukocyte antigen HLA-B27 haplotype [3] and is more common in white males (male to female ratio approximately 8–9:1).