Correlation studies on Widal agglutination reaction and diagnosis of typhoid fever.
A total of 80 patients at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH) suspected of having enteric infections were screened for the presence of Salmonella species using blood, urine and stool samples along with Widal agglutination tests. Although 39 patients tested positive for the Widal agglutination test with titers ranging from 1:80 to 1:320, no Salmonella organism was encountered in some cultures. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences (chi2) at the 5% probability level between the Widal test and the cultures of the clinical samples. The results suggest that serological investigations alone may not be a reliable index for the diagnosis of Salmonella infections.
Department of Microbiology University of Uyo, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
Alfred Young
AY
Itah
Comfort J
CJ
Akpan
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000372:Agglutination Tests / Q000379:methods; D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012485:Salmonella typhi / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014435:Typhoid Fever / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014556:Urine / Q000382:microbiology