Widal Test (Tube Agglutination) Test

The Widal Blood Test is used to quickly diagnose enteric or typhoid fever. Enteric fever is caused by a species of bacteria called Salmonella enterica or Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. Enteric fever may result 8-48 hours after infection by S. enterica and last 2-5 days. It usually clears away without significant medical intervention. However, it can also cause life-threatening complications. It measures agglutinating antibody levels against O and H antigens. The Widal test is positive after the tenth day of the disease and may be false positive if an individual previously received a TAB vaccine.

No special preparation is required for these tests, Wearing a short sleeve or sleeveless shirt or T-shirt will be helpful for the technicians to draw blood from the veins.

The Widal Blood Test is used to quickly diagnose enteric or typhoid fever. The following conditions are the reason why a patient is advised to undergo a Widal test. They are fever accompanied by chills, Fatigue, Headache, Abdominal pain, Constipation, Weight loss, and Rash spots. The results of the tests are either positive or negative based on the agglutination occurrence. If Agglutination occurs within a minute, then the result is Positive (+ve). If the Agglutination doesn’t occur, then the result is Negative (-ve).

For the blood to be drawn, at first the area is cleansed with an antiseptic and tourniquet is placed around the upper arm for pressure. A needle is inserted into the vein and blood is drawn and collected in a vial. Now, the tourniquet is removed and the patient is provided with cotton balls to prevent further bleeding. The Collected sample is stored in a blood container which has appropriate preservative / clot activator / Anticoagulant.