Gastrointestinal disease

Gastrointestinal infection (infectious intestinal disease)  affects as many as 1 in 5 members of the population each year. Symptoms of gastrointestinal infection, which are not necessarily confined to diarrhoea and vomiting, are caused by the organisms themselves or by the toxins that they produce.

The HPA becomes aware of possible outbreaks of infectious intestinal disease from various sources including the national laboratory reporting scheme, consultants in communicable disease control (CCDCs), Environmental Health Officers (EHOs), microbiologists and the HPA reference laboratories.

Once an outbreak of infectious intestinal disease has been identified, the Health Protection Agency investigates the outbreak to try to prevent more people becoming ill.

Related Topics:

• Adenovirus
• Astrovirus
• Bacillus
• Botulism
• Campylobacter
• Cholera
• Clostridium perfringens
• Cryptosporidium
• E. coli
• E. coli VTEC (incl. O157) 
• Entamoeba histolytica
• Giardia lamblia
• Listeria
• Norovirus
• Paratyphoid
• Rotavirus
• Salmonella
• Sapovirus
• Shigella
• Typhoid
• Yersinia