الفهرس 
Risk FactorsOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Typhoid fever is a systemic infectious disease characterized by an acute illness. The first typical manifestations are fever, headache, abdominal pain, relative bradycardia, splenomegaly, and leukopenia. Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi (S. Typhi) is the etiological agent of the disease. Typhoid fever is an important cause of morbidity in many regions of the world, with an estimated 12 to 33 million cases occurring annually. Typhoid fever is endemic in Egypt and population-based studies indicated that typhoid fever incidence is 10−100/100,000 per year, with an annual peak in August.
The delay in diagnosis and institution of appropriate therapy, especially with emergence of multi-drug resistant strains of S. Typhi, can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The diagnosis of typhoid fever on clinical grounds is difficult, as the presenting symptoms are diverse and similar to those observed with other febrile illnesses. The definitive diagnosis of typhoid fever requires the isolation of S. Typhi from the patient. Cultures of blood, stool, urine, rose spots, blood mononuclear cell-platelet fraction, bone marrow, and gastric and intestinal secretions can all be useful for diagnosis. The Widal test, which is more than100 years old, has been widely used in the serologic diagnosis of typhoid fever in Egypt. The value of the test for the diagnosis of typhoid fever has been debated for as many years as it has been available. TUBEX test is another serological test which was stated to have the advantages of the Widal test in terms of simplicity and its specificity normally accorded to ELISAs that utilize purified antigens for detection.