RAPID DIAGNOSIS OF TYPHOID FEVER-A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TYPHIDOT AND WIDAL TEST

Abstract

Typhoid fever is a major public health problem in Asia Pacific region. It is endemic in Indian subcontinent. Conventional methods for its diagnosis are blood culture and Widal test. Typhidot is a new rapid serological test which is now commercially available and reliable in diagnosis of typhoid fever even with limited resources. The study included 100 patients of all age groups who presented with fever in the outpatient departments (OPD). Blood culture, widal test and typhidot test were performed in all the patients. Typhidot test is an immunodot ELISA which detects outer membrane protein specific for Salmonella typhi within an hour. It separately identifies IgM and IgG antibodies. Typhidot and widal tests results were then compared in clinically suspected cases of typhoid fever (62 Group-1) and non typhoidal fever (38 Group-2). Seven (11.29%) patients of Group-1 were blood culture positive, 45(72.58%) were widal test positive and 52 (83.8%) were positive in typhidot test. All patients of Group-2 were sterile on blood culture, 25 (65.78%) were widal positive, while 3 (7.89%) tested positive for Typhidot. The difference in the sensitivity of widal and typhidot test in both the groups (1 & 2) was found to be statistically significant (group-1: p value = 0.023; group-2: p value < 0.05). Typhidot test is a rapid, easy to perform and reliable test for the diagnosis and early institution of therapy in typhoid fever. It might be a practical alternative to widal test due to its higher sensitivity and specificity.