Abstract :
Introduction: Typhoid is a bacterial infection that can lead to a high fever, diarrhoea, and vomiting. It can be fatal. It is caused by the bacteria Salmonella typhi. Globally, around 21.5 million people a year contract typhoid. If typhoid is caught early, it can be successfully treated with antibiotics; if it is not treated, typhoid can be fatal.
Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective and observational study conducted in Department of Pediatrics from the 1 January 2016 to 30 December 2019. Epidemiological data, clinical features, blood culture, Typhidot IgM test and other laboratory parameters from all the patients were collected and it was analyzed by using the Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 21 Fisher’s exact test.
Results: During the study period total 290 febrile patients with symptoms suggestive of Enteric fever were included. Incidence of enteric fever among these 290 patients was 32.41% (n=94), of which laboratory confirmed culture positive incidence was 17.09% (n=55) and probable cases of enteric fever based on positive serodiagnosis where culture showed no growth was 17.09% (n=39). Out of 290 patients, 170 (58.62%) were male and rest 120 (41.37%) were female. The serological positivity by Widal test in this
study was 32.06% (n=93/290). Serodiagnosis by Typhidot IgM was 27.24% (n=79/290).
Conclusions: High rate of MDR S. Typhi is alarming and suggests need for better living standards, health education, correct diagnosis and proper treatment as control strategies.
Keyword :
Salmonella Typhi, Enteric Fever, Widal Test, Typhidot.