Everything You Need to Know About Weil Felix Test |
Posted: July 15, 2020 |
Weil Felix test is an agglutination test that is done to detect the presence of Rickettsia in humans. Rickettsia is bacteria that are spread by ticks, fleas, and lice. It enters the human body when ticks, fleas, or lice bites it. Weil Felix test detects rickettsia in the body by checking the presence of antibodies against rickettsia in the blood. Rickettsia is the root cause of rickettsial diseases which comprise of:
Some of the symptoms of rickettsial diseases are:
Preparations needed for Weil Felix test There are no special preparations required for Weil Felix test. Healthcare professionals of a good diagnostics in Hyderabad or anywhere else ask patients not to consume alcohol and over the counter medications before the test as they might alter the results. Procedures used to conduct Weil Felix Test Weil Felix Test is based on the cross-reaction between antibodies produced due to acute rickettsial infection and the antigens of OX (OX19, OX2 and OXK) strains of Proteus species. The antigens are obtained commercially and are used in below-mentioned two procedures used to perform the Weil Felix Test. 1. Slide Method On a glass slide, a little amount of patient’s serum, between 50-100μL, is dropped. This serum is mixed with the desired antigen and the glass slide is rotated for around one minute. The occurrence of agglutination means positive results and titer is greater than or equal to 1:20. 2. Tube Method In the series of test tubes containing two-fold dilutions of blood, 0.25% of phenol saline is added as a diluent and final volume in the tube is made to reach 1 mL. A drop of antigen suspension is poured in each test tube and the mixture is left for incubation for 4 to 6 hours at 50-55°C. Flocculation will happen in the test tube that contains infected serum, which means the results are positive. In case of positive results, titers will be greater than or equal to 1:320. Weil Felix test does not pose any risk as such. It is a simple blood test. There are very fewer chances of patients developing bruises and infection at the point from where blood was drawn.
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