Antigen detection in the serum by counter-immuuoelectrophoresis for an early diagnosis of typhoid fever

Abstract

Twenty bacteriologically confirmed cases of typhoid fever and 23 normal healthy persons were included in this study. The convalescent sera were collected one week after the first sample. In all, 13 paired sera, 7 acute phase sera and 23 normal control samples were tested for Salmonella tphi antigen by counter-immunoelectrophoresis (CIE). The circulating antigen was detected in 18 of the 20 cases during acute phase. None of the convalescent sera and normal control samples showed S. typhi antigen. Thus detection of antigen by em offers a reliable method in the early diagnosis of typhoid fever even before the appearance of antibodies in the blood at a diagnostic titre.