Typhidot is a quick and simple laboratory test for typhoid disease that involves mixing a blood sample with a test reagent to detect the presence of Salmonella typhi. It is useful in ruling out other diseases with similar symptoms and can be particularly helpful in poorer countries where more accurate but time-consuming tests may not be available.
Typhidot is a laboratory test for typhoid disease, which involves mixing a blood sample with a test reagent and looking for a certain color result. It’s a quick and relatively simple test, which means that doctors, even in some poorer countries, are able to quickly diagnose and treat typhoid. The basis of the test is that it contains antibodies that specifically bind to the typhoid bacteria to create a positive result.
The bacterial species Salmonella typhi causes typhus. Typically a problem in regions of the world with inadequate sewage and drinking water infrastructure, typhoid is generally transmitted through person-to-person fecal contact, usually through contamination of food or water. Potentially fatal, the disease produces a very high fever and requires antibiotic treatment to cure the infection. However, many other serious diseases in poor countries, such as malaria, can cause high fevers, so a rapid diagnostic test such as the tiphidot may be useful in ruling them out.
Developed by the Malaysian company Bio-Diagnostics Research, Typhidot is just one of several diagnostic tests on the market to check for typhus. According to the World Health Organization, the most accurate way to diagnose typhoid infection is for a doctor to take a sample of bone marrow and for a microbiologist to culture any bacteria in the sample. Isolation of bacteria is also possible from blood, but the disadvantages of these tests are that they take a few days and involve a lot of work and the use of specialized microbiological equipment. In a poor country, the health care system may not be able to afford these tests.
These types of tests are based on traditional microbiological techniques, in which bacteria in a sample are allowed to grow in nutrients until they are present in large enough numbers for the analyst to identify them as a specific species. Rapid microbiological tests use newer technology and do not require time for the initial amount of bacteria in the sample to reproduce. Typhidot, for example, uses a system where any sample containing Salmonella typhi can be identified by antibodies. Antibodies are small molecules produced by the body in response to an infection, which attach themselves to a previously recognized infectious organism and mark it for the body to destroy.
Analysts using the Typhidot test require a small blood sample from a patient with suspected typhoid fever. They dilute the sample with sterile liquid and place the discs, which the manufacturer has impregnated with Salmonella typhi specific antibody, into the diluted sample. After several incubations and washing of the discs, the discs are soaked in a solution that helps develop color in the presence of the bacterium. A dark color means Salmonella typhi is present and no color means the patient is most likely suffering from another disease. The doctor can then give the patient the appropriate treatment for the condition, without having to wait for longer, though more specific, microbiological test results.
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