Serological tests
Serological tests such as indirect haemagglutination assay (IHA) have been used to detect the presence of antibodies against B. pseudomallei. However, different groups of people have widely different levels of antibodies, so interpretation of these tests depends on location. In Australia, less than 5% of people have B. pseudomallei antibodies, so the presence of even relatively low amounts of antibody is unusual and could suggest melioidosis. In Thailand, many people have antibodies against B. pseudomallei so the diagnosis of melioidosis should not be reliant entirely on the serological tests done in endemic areas. Indirect immunofluorescent test (IFAT) uses either B. pseudomallei or B. thailandensis antigens to look for the total number of antibodies in human serum. Using IFAT is labour intensive and is not used in large scale investigations.Antigen detect tests allow rapid detection of melioidosis. Examples of antigen detection tests are: latex agglutination test and ELISA. Latex agglutination uses antibodies coated on latex beads to detect B. pseudomallei antigens in solid or liquid media, although not all the assays can detect different species of Burkholderia. Latex agglutination is useful in screening for suspected B. pseudomallei colonies. IgG and IgM ELISAs has been used to detect lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antigens of B. pseudomallei, but plagued with low sensitivity. Commercial ELISA kits for melioidosis no longer available in the market due to low sensitivity to human antibodies detection. Nevertheless, antigen detection tests may be useful in severely ill patients because the bacterial load is high enough for detection.
Windigo psychosis may well be the most perfect example of the construction of an Aboriginal mental disorder by the scholarly professions, and its persistence dramatically underscores how constructions of the Aboriginal by these professions have, like Frankensteins monster, taken on a life of their own. The 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) classifies "Windigo" as a culture-specific disorder, describing it as "Rare, historic accounts of cannibalistic obsession... Symptoms included depression, homicidal or suicidal thoughts, and a delusional, compulsive wish to eat human flesh... Some controversial new studies question the syndromes legitimacy, claiming cases were actually a product of hostile accusations invented to justify the victims ostracism or execution." As a concept or metaphor
In addition to denoting a cannibalistic monster from certain traditional folklore, some Native Americans also understand the wendigo conceptually. As a concept, the wendigo can apply to any person, idea, or movement infected by a corrosive drive toward self-aggrandizing greed and excessive consumption, traits that sow disharmony and destruction if left unchecked. Ojibwe scholar Brady DeSanti asserts that the wendigo "can be understood as a marker indicating... a person... imbalanced both internally and toward the larger community of human and spiritual beings around them." Out of equilibrium and estranged by their communities, individuals thought to be afflicted by the wendigo spirit unravel and destroy the ecological balance around them. Chippewa author Louise Erdrichs novel The Round House, winner of the National Book Award, depicts a situation where an individual person becomes a wendigo.