Whipple's disease and ankylosing spondylitis simultaneous occurrence in HLA-B27 positive male

A 57 year old male had recurrent arthritis and uveitis for 34 years, spinal symptoms for 10 years, and malabsorption for four months leading to the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis and Whipple's disease. HLA-B27 was positive. Out of the four cases of Whipple's and ankylosing spondylitis in the literature, only one had been tested for HLA-B27 and was found to be negative.