Salmonella Typhi IgM ELISA Kit

Salmonella typhi is the causative agent of typhoid fever a contagious infection of the intestines that affects the whole body. In developing countries, typhoid often occurs in epidemics. Most people in the United States get typhoid as a result of visiting another country where the food or water supply has been contaminated. Symptoms usually start 1 to 3 weeks after exposure to the bacteria. Symptoms include: high fever, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, skin rash and weakness. The symptoms may take 2 weeks or more to go away. Typhoid is spread when a person drinks or eats food and water contaminated by human waste (stool or urine) containing Salmonella typhi bacteria. A person who no longer has symptoms may still transmit the bacteria as a carrier. Testing for immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgA, and IgM antilipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Salmonella typhi antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that the levels of all three classes of immunoglobulin anti-LPS of S. typhi were higher in typhoid patients than in healthy or febrile nontyphoidal groups. The ELISA assay was much more sensitive and specific than any combination of the Widal test, and hence it could be a useful tool for the serologic diagnosis of typhoidal fever with a single blood sample.