Comparative Study between IgM ELISA and Widal Test for Diagnosis of Enteric Fever at a Tertiary Care Centre

Enteric fever is major public health problem in developing countries like India. Early and accurate diagnosis is necessary for prompt treatment. We have compared diagnostic accuracy of IgM ELISA test and Tube Widal test for early and rapid diagnosis of Enteric fever considering blood culture as gold standard test. A total 100 clinically suspected enteric fever cases were included. Blood culture, Tube Widal and IgM ELISA tests were performed. In 33 patient�s alternative diagnosis was made after 48- 72 hours which was considered as control group. Among 67 clinically diagnosed enteric fever patients, only 8.9 % were blood culture positive for Salmonella species. , 58.21 % tube widal positive and IgM ELISA 26.87 % patients. Positivity percentage of IgM ELISA was 47 %in first week of illness, 18 % in second, it was significantly decreased (p