title: Study of baseline Widal titres in a healthy adult population of Wayanad district, Kerala, India.
abstract: The Widal test is still widely used in diagnosing typhoid fever in developing countries. Often, specific chemotherapy is administered based on a single Widal test. Interpretation of a single Widal test, in turn, depends on the baseline agglutinin titres among the local population in that area. Hence, we aimed to find out the baseline titres in our area. A single blood sample was collected from hospital outpatients with non-infectious diseases, the patients being aged above 18 years and residing in Wayanad district continuously for at least 5 years. The test was performed according to the Widal test kit manufacturer's instructions and interpreted using standard guidelines. The baseline titre for Anti TO, TH, AH and BH agglutinins in our area was found to be 1:40, 1:80, 1:40 and 1:40, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, DM Wayanad Institute of Medical Sciences, Wayanad, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: Saleel V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Maulingkar
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology, DM Wayanad Institute of Medical Sciences, Wayanad, Kerala, India prakashssmc@gmail.com.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Prakash
authors.affiliation: Technician In Charge, Department of Microbiology, DM Wayanad Institute of Medical Sciences, Wayanad, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: P V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Harish
authors.affiliation: Technician, Department of Microbiology, DM Wayanad Institute of Medical Sciences, Wayanad, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Salabha
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000372:Agglutination Tests / Q000592:standards*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D012485:Salmonella typhi; D014435:Typhoid Fever / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*
keywords: Salmonella; Widal; baseline titre; typhoid