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Why am I having recurrent typhoid?
Question
I am a 25 years old boy who suffered from typhoid 2 months back. I took treatment for 14 days. Now again I am feeling pain in my joints with chills. I took a widal test and the result was positive - salmonella O - 1:40 and H - 1:80, white blood cell (WBC) count - 7300, lymphocytes - 32%. Also, I feel malaise and stomach burning and neck stiffness. Why I am getting recurrent typhoid or is this some other disease? I feel throat pain too. Please advise.
Expert Answer
A
Dr Anuj SharmaFeb 03, 2009
World Health Organization,
Country Office for India,
New Delhi
Country Office for India,
New Delhi
You have not mentioned what were your symptoms when you were diagnosed with typhoid 2 months back. Usually, fever is a prominent symptom, but you have not mentioned that in your query. Let me provide you some details about the Widal test. Widal is a blood test, though widely used for serological diagnosis of enteric fever (typhoid / paratyphoid fever), which has poor clinical diagnostic utility. It measures the titre (level) of antibodies (in blood of patients) against salmonella antigens:
- TO – Somatic (O) antigen of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi.
- TH – Flagellar (H) antigen of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi.
- AH – Flagellar (H) antigen of Salmonella enterica serovar Paratyphi A.
- BH - Flagellar (H) antigen of Salmonella enterica serovar Paratyphi B.
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