Widal Test : Study
The Widal Test’s propensity for erroneous results is obfuscating India’s typhoid burden, increasing expenses, and risking more antimicrobial resistance.
- Widal Test is a test done for diagnosing typhoid fever.
- Typhoid fever, also known as enteric fever, is a bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi, and it is commonly spread through contaminated food or water.
- A person with typhoid fever will experience symptoms like fatigue, high fever, headache, diarrhoea or constipation, abdominal pain, weight loss, and red spots.
- These symptoms mimic those of malaria, dengue, influenza, and typhus, to name a few, making it difficult to diagnose without proper testing.
- As with other infections, our immune system produces antibodies in the blood against the bacteria, causing enteric fever.
- The widal test is a serological test that detects antibodies against the bacteria in a patient’s blood sample, indicating whether or not they have been infected with the bacteria.
- It is used to help diagnose a current or recent infection or to determine if an individual has had a previous typhoid infection.
- It’s a point-of-care test and doesn’t need special skills or infrastructure.
- Developed in the late 1800s by a French physician, it is no longer used in many countries because of its flaws.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that due to the various factors that can influence the results of a Widal test, it is best not to rely too much on this test.
