We thank Chen et al. for their insightful comments [1] on our cohort study [2]. Previous classifications of Whipple’s disease (WD) have largely been microbiology-driven [3]. Our objective was to challenge this conception from a clinical-phenotypic perspective, using a classification that could be used by clinicians. We agree that WD is a systemic condition, even when it appears to be clinically localised to the joints. This is supported by the high rate of positive PCR results in stool samples (75%) and saliva samples (59%) in this population.
