THE BASELINE WIDAL TITRE AGAINST SALMONELLA ENTERICA IN HEALTHY POPULATION OF GWALIOR AND CHAMBAL DIVISION OF MADHYA PRADESH

Abstract: Background: Enteric fever is a major endemic health problem in India. Widal agglutination test is widely used for its diagnosis. But the interpretation of Widal test depends upon the baseline titre which is prevalent amongst healthy participantss in a particular geographical area. Aim:Thepresentstudywasundertakentoestablish the normal baseline titre in apparently healthy blood donors and also to determine cutoff values for the Widal test inapparentlyhealthypopulation. MaterialandMethods:Blood samples were collected from healthy blood donors over the period from July 2019 to October 2020and they were analyzed for the presence of the Salmonella antibodies by carrying out the Widal tube agglutination test. Results:Out of the 500 participants, which were tested, 297 (59.4%) sera were found to be positive for Widal test and 203 (40.6%) were negative. The most frequently recorded baseline titre of the reactive sera was 1:20 for the anti-O antibodies and it was 1:40 for the anti-H antibodies and this was the baseline titre for this region. The frequency rate was higher in male and the most frequent blood group was noted maximum in B. Conclusion: Baseline titre for O, H, AH and BH antigen is 1:20, 1:40, 1:10 and 1:10 respectively. It has been recommended that the significant titre of the O agglutinins and H agglutinins of Salmonella Typhi, Salmonella Paratyphi AH and Paratyphi BH is 1:80, 1:160, 1:40 and 1:40 respectively for area in and around Gwalior and Chambal region. Therefore, recommend changing currently used baseline titre of widal test in this region. Key words: Baseline Widaltitres; Enteric fever; Widal test