Encouraged by the World Health Organization, 70% of the worlds population across 130 countries are receiving iodized salt. In some countries, iodized salt is added to bread. Despite this, iodine deficiency has reappeared in some Western countries as a result of attempts to reduce salt intake.Pregnant and breastfeeding women, who require 66% more daily iodine than non-pregnant women, may still not be getting enough iodine. The World Health Organization recommends a daily intake of 250 µg for pregnant and breastfeeding women. As many women will not achieve this from dietary sources alone, the American Thyroid Association recommends a 150 µg daily supplement by mouth. Screening
Screening for hypothyroidism is performed in the newborn period in many countries, generally using TSH. This has led to the early identification of many cases and thus the prevention of developmental delay. It is the most widely used newborn screening test worldwide. While TSH-based screening will identify the most common causes, the addition of T4 testing is required to pick up the rarer central causes of neonatal hypothyroidism. If T4 determination is included in the screening done at birth, this will identify cases of congenital hypothyroidism of central origin in 1:16,000 to 1:160,000 children. Considering that these children usually have other pituitary hormone deficiencies, early identification of these cases may prevent complications.In adults, widespread screening of the general population is a matter of debate.
The possible immunological defect may be specific for T. whipplei, since the disease is not associated with a substantially increased risk of other infections. The disease is usually diagnosed in middle age (median 49 years). Studies from Germany have shown that age at diagnosis has been rising since the 1960s. History
Whipple described the disease in 1907 in a paper in the now-defunct Bulletin of Johns Hopkins Hospital. The patient was a 36-year-old medical missionary. Whipple referred to the disease as "intestinal lipodystrophy". It was long presumed to be an infectious disease, but the causative organism was only fully identified in 1992. In 2003, doctors from Johns Hopkins Hospital, together with the French microbiologist Didier Raoult applied novel diagnostic methods to stored tissue samples from Whipples original patient, and demonstrated T. whipplei in these tissues. See also
Tropheryma whipplei

Notes
References
External links
"Whipples Disease". National Digestive Disease Information Clearinghouse NDDIC.