The Stained Salmonella Antigen (WIDAL) kit is used for detection of specific antibodies produced in response to the stimulation by specific antigen of salmonella. The killed bacterial suspension of Salmonella carries specific antigen ‘O’, ‘H’, ‘AH’, and ‘BH’ . This will react with immuno-specific antibodies which may be present in patient serum and agglutinate the antigen to produce agglutination or clumps on the slide.

Clinical Significance

The organism Salmonella typhosa is responsible for causing enteric fever or typhoid fever, which is characterized generally by very high consistent fever, loss of appetite, transitory bacteraemia, round or oval shaped ulcer on smooth peritoneal surface of Peyer's patches and solitary lymphoid follicle of ileum etc. The organism possess 'O' antigen on the cell wall and 'H' antigen on it's flagella, against which the host body produces immunospecific antibodies, to counteract the effect of corresponding antigens.