Utility of rapid chromatographic Immunoassay to rule out typhoid Fever among malaria negative patients.

Enteric fever, an endemic disease, is a significant health problem in developing low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We studied the utility of Typhoid IgM/IgG assay in Widal titre positive samples among malaria negative patients. A total of 30 febrile patients were included. A blood sample was collected for performing the Widal test and a rapid lateral flow immune assay (Typhoid IgG/IgM tests). A total of 13/30 were positive on blood culture; however, Salmonella typhi grew on only two (6.6%). Of the 30 samples, 24 (80%) were positive for the rapid immunochromatographic (ICT) test None of the samples negative by the rapid ICT test grew Salmonella typhi . The rapid ICT test has better sensitivity and is easy to perform with minimal infrastructure; hence, it is a practical alternative to the age old Widal test.