Background. Enteric fever is a great public health problem associated with significant illness and death in many endemic countries, and its clinical diagnosis is still daunting. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of S. Typhi among febrile patients in Bafoussam and to evaluate the diagnostic performances of Widal and Typhidot tests. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study among 336 participants visiting three hospitals in Bafoussam from August 1, 2021, to November 31, 2021. Widal test, Typhidot assay, and stool culture were used to screen for salmonellosis with the help of a structured questionnaire. Results. The prevalence of S. Typhi and S. Paratyphi was found to be 62.85% and 37.14%, respectively. The overall prevalence of typhoid fever using stool culture was 20.86%. The significant risk factors associated with enteric fever were lack or insufficient knowledge of typhoid fever, poor hand hygiene, and anorexia. Typhidot immunoassay was more sensitive (100%) and specific (82.3%) than the Widal test. Both were analytically inferior to stool culture. Conclusions. High prevalence of typhoid fever (20.86%) was observed which was largely associated with lack or insufficient knowledge of typhoid fever, poor hygiene measure, and anorexia as risk factors. The performances of the Widal and Typhidot test against a stool culture were inferior but with Typhidot better than the Widal slide agglutination.

中文翻译：

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喀麦隆巴富萨姆市伤寒免疫测定和 Widal 玻片凝集试验在诊断发热患者伤寒中的流行病学和表现：一项横断面比较研究

背景。肠热病是一个严重的公共卫生问题，在许多流行国家中与严重疾病和死亡相关，其临床诊断仍然令人畏惧。本研究的目的是确定巴富萨姆发热患者中伤寒沙门氏菌的患病率和危险因素，并评估 Widal 和伤寒测试的诊断性能。方法。这是一项横断面研究，涉及 2021 年 8 月 1 日至 2021 年 11 月 31 日访问巴富萨姆三家医院的 336 名参与者。在结构化问卷的帮助下，使用 Widal 测试、伤寒试验和粪便培养来筛查沙门氏菌病。结果。伤寒沙门氏菌和副伤寒沙门氏菌的患病率分别为62.85%和37.14%。粪便培养伤寒总患病率为20.86%。与肠热相关的重要危险因素是对伤寒的了解不足或不足、手部卫生差和厌食。伤寒免疫测定比 Widal 试验更敏感 (100%) 和特异度 (82.3%)。两者的分析结果均低于粪便培养。结论。伤寒患病率较高（20.86%），很大程度上与伤寒知识缺乏或不足、卫生措施不良和厌食等危险因素有关。Widal 和Typhidot 测试针对粪便培养物的性能较差，但Typhidot 优于Widal 玻片凝集。