Seroprevalence of Typhoid Fever in Suspected Patients referring to Laboratory of Ahvaz Jahad Daneshgahi, Iran, in a10 years period (2011-2020)

Background and Objectives Typhoid is a contagious disease transmitted through food and water and is a public health problem worldwide, especially in developing countries. The present study aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence of typhoid fever in suspected patients referred to the Laboratory of Jahad Daneshgahi, Ahvaz, Iran. Subjects and Methods This retrospective study was conducted on all patients suspected of typhoid fever who were referred to the Laboratory of Jahad Daneshgahi in Ahvaz, Iran, in a 10-year period from 2011-2020. The Widal serological test was considered positive 1.160 and above. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 22) and Chi-square test. Results Out of 8,642 patients, 88 (1.02%) cases were seropositive. Despite the trend of changes in positive cases from 0.4% in 2011 to 1.4% in 2015 and its zigzag diagram in different years, no statistically significant difference was observed between the positive cases by year (P=0.08). The lowest and highest seropositive frequencies were in summer and winter seasons (0.8% ver.1.2%); and in October and February months (0.4 ver.1.6%), respectively (P=0.43). Although the frequency of seropositive cases of typhoid fever was higher in women (1.07%) than in men (0.97%), this difference was not statistically significant (P=0.37). The highest frequency of seropositive cases was observed in the age group under 15 years (1.3%) and the lowest in the age group over 65 years [0.6%; P=0.56]. Conclusion The obtained results showed that the changes in typhoid fever in this period of time were zigzag and had no constant trend. Moreover, no statistically significant difference was observed between males and females at different ages. The findings of this study could be helpful for healthcare policymakers in understanding the epidemiology of typhoid fever in this region.