WHAT IS WEIL-FELIX AGGLUTININS TEST?
A test performed for the purpose of detecting and differentiating rickettsial antibodies in the serum. Rickettsial organisms cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Q fever, Brill-Zinsser disease, epidemic typhus, murine typhus, scrub typhus, and rickettsialpox. Three Proteus antigens are known to cross-react in specific relationships with rickettsial antibodies. The test is performed by a mixture of serial dilutions of test serum with suspensions of Proteus strains OX-2, OX-19, and OX-K and observation for agglutination. A single titer >1 : 320 or a fourfold rise in titer between acute and convalescent samples is considered diagnostic.