What does a +ve typhoid IgG/IgM and -ve Widal test mean?

Question

Hello doctor,

What does a positive typhoid IgG/IgM test and a negative Widal test mean? My typhoid IgG and IgM were positive, but the Widal test was T.O-1:20 and T.H-1:20.

Please help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

To understand this, you will need a basic understanding of typhoid antibodies. Typhoid antibody detection tests are of two types: One is quantitative, which detects the amount of IgG and IgM antibodies, and the other is the Widal test, which detects titers. Quantitative tests determine the amount of antibodies in your body, which tells the immunity status against typhoid.

Whereas, the Widal test tells about the current active infection of typhoid. If IgG (Immunoglobulin G) and IgM (Immunoglobulin M) are positive, it means your body has good levels of antibodies to fight typhoid. Your widal is negative (T.O (somatic) more than 1:80 and T.H (flagellar) more than 1:160 is positive). So your Widal is negative.

The overall conclusion of your reports is that your body has antibodies to fight typhoid, and you are currently not infected with typhoid, as your Widal test is negative.

I hope this helps.

Kindly revert in case of further queries.

Thank you.