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What does a +ve typhoid IgG/IgM and -ve Widal test mean?

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Patient's Query

Hello doctor,

What does a positive typhoid IgG/IgM test and a negative Widal test mean? My typhoid IgG and IgM were positive, but the Widal test was T.O-1:20 and T.H-1:20.

Please help.

Answered by Dr. Arpit Varshney

Education:

MBBS

Professional Bio:

Dr. Arpit Varshney is an MD Medicine Doctor and a Physician with six years of clinical experience. He completed his MBBS from Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, University of Delhi, and MD Medicine from Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana. He is qualified to treat acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education to patients. Currently, he is working in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

This doctor is not available for online consultations on the platform anymore.

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

To understand this, you will need a basic understanding of typhoid antibodies. Typhoid antibody detection tests are of two types: One is quantitative, which detects the amount of IgG and IgM antibodies, and the other is the Widal test, which detects titers. Quantitative tests determine the amount of antibodies in your body, which tells the immunity status against typhoid.

Whereas, the Widal test tells about the current active infection of typhoid. If IgG (Immunoglobulin G) and IgM (Immunoglobulin M) are positive, it means your body has good levels of antibodies to fight typhoid. Your widal is negative (T.O (somatic) more than 1:80 and T.H (flagellar) more than 1:160 is positive). So your Widal is negative.

The overall conclusion of your reports is that your body has antibodies to fight typhoid, and you are currently not infected with typhoid, as your Widal test is negative.

I hope this helps.

Kindly revert in case of further queries.

Thank you.

Medically reviewed by iCliniq medical review team
Published At March 4, 2022
Reviewed At December 18, 2025

Education:

MBBS

Professional Bio:

Dr. Arpit Varshney is an MD Medicine Doctor and a Physician with six years of clinical experience. He completed his MBBS from Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, University of Delhi, and MD Medicine from Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana. He is qualified to treat acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education to patients. Currently, he is working in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

This doctor is not available for online consultations on the platform anymore.

Same symptoms don't mean you have the same problem. Consult a doctor now!

Education:

MBBS

Professional Bio:

Dr. Arpit Varshney is an MD Medicine Doctor and a Physician with six years of clinical experience. He completed his MBBS from Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, University of Delhi, and MD Medicine from Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana. He is qualified to treat acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education to patients. Currently, he is working in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

This doctor is not available for online consultations on the platform anymore.

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