Recently, it has been observed in India, that clinicians use the Widal test extensively to diagnose typhoid in both public and private sectors.
About Widal Test
It is named after its inventor, Georges-Fernand Widal.
It is done to detect the presence of serum agglutinins or antibodies (H and O) in individuals who have typhoid and paratyphoid fever.
It’s a point-of-care test and doesn’t need special skills or infrastructure.
This test aims to analyze infection caused by contaminated food and beverages.
Issues: The Widal Test which is widely followed is not a reliable test for typhoid.
The test’s propensity for erroneous results is obfuscating India’s typhoid burden, increasing expenses, and risking more antimicrobial resistance.
Typhoid
Typhoid fever is a life-threatening infection caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi.
Salmonella Typhi lives only in humans.
It is also known as enteric fever.
It is usually spread through contaminated food or water.
Causes: Lack of access to safe drinking water or adequate sanitation, urbanization and climate change, antibiotic resistance.
Symptoms: It presents with a high fever, stomach pain, weakness, and other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, and a rash.
Threat: If left untreated, typhoid can be life-threatening. Per the World Health Organisation, 90 lakh people are diagnosed worldwide with typhoid every year, and 1.1 lakh die of it.
Treatment: Typhoid fever can be treated with antibiotics although increasing resistance to different types of antibiotics is making treatment more complicated.
