Paper I
2021 May (Supplementary) (2010 Scheme) · 40 marks · 120 min

Question

Laboratory diagnosis of enteric fever

Q42 marksShort Notes

Answer

Laboratory diagnosis of enteric (typhoid) fever (Salmonella Typhi/Paratyphi):

  • Blood culture — best yield in the first week (bacteraemic phase); bile broth neutralises antibacterial serum activity.
  • Bone marrow culture — most sensitive at any stage, even after antibiotics have begun.
  • Stool and urine culture — positive from the second/third week as the organism localizes to the gut and gallbladder/kidney.
  • Widal test — detects rising titres of O and H agglutinating antibody in paired sera; limited by cross-reactions and background titres in endemic populations.
  • Newer methods — Typhidot/IgM dot-EIA for rapid diagnosis, and PCR where available.

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