Division GI-GE: Gastroenteritis (excl. CDI)

Gastroenteritis must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Patient has an acute onset of diarrhoea (liquid stools for more than 12 hours) with or without vomiting or fever (> 38 °C) and no likely non-infectious cause (e.g. diagnostic tests, therapeutic regimen other than antimicrobial agents, acute exacerbation of a chronic condition, or psychological stress)

• Patient has at least two of the following signs or symptoms with no other recognised cause: nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever (> 38 °C), or headache

AND at least one of the following:

• an enteric pathogen is cultured from stool or rectal swab

• an enteric pathogen is detected by routine or electron microscopy

• an enteric pathogen is detected by antigen or antibody assay on blood or faeces

• evidence of an enteric pathogen is detected by cytopathic changes in tissue culture (toxin assay)

• diagnostic single antibody titer (IgM) or four-fold increase in paired sera (IgG) for pathogen