The rapid slide agglutination test in the diagnosis of typhoid fevers and typhus.

Of 10,000 sera examined for infectious diseases by both the rapid slide agglutination and the tube agglutination tests, 128 were found positive for typhus fever and 257 for typhoid and paratyphoid infections. Of 84 of the last mentioned cases of typhoid and paratyphoid, which were confirmed by cultural examination, 45 (53.5%) were negative to the tube test, whereas only one (1.2%) was negative to the slide test. Taking the total of 385 cases in which the clinical picture was typical and either one of the two serological tests positive, the tube test was negative in 183 cases (47.2%) whereas the slide test was negative once only (0.3%). Of 201 cases in which both the slide and tube tests were positive, the slide test gave the result, on an average, six days earlier in 19 cases (10%).A control test of 139 sera from patients suffering from various other diseases gave a negative result on the slide test.