Gastroenteritis Management for Environmental Health Professionals 

When conducting a site assessment EHO’s should:

1.

Confirm whether any additional cases have occurred among staff, children, or visitors and advise relevant exclusion periods.

2.

Assist with the collection of up to five faecal specimens from cases, ensuring they are clearly labelled, including outbreak name and PHESS ID and submit these to the Microbiological Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory (MDU) for analysis. Specimens may be collected up to 7 days after symptom resolution.  

3.

Return the completed Gastroenteritis Onsite Outbreak Assessment (GOOA) form to wphu@wh.org.au within 2 working days.

4.

Review

a. Hand hygiene

b. Cleaning and disinfection practices

c. Food safety and handling practices

5.

Ensure cleaning staff use appropriate chlorine dilutions and follow outbreak cleaning protocols as per the Guidelines for the Investigation of Gastroenteritis.

Cleaning and disinfection are critical when managing a gastroenteritis outbreak. EHOs can direct facilities to the appropriate Guidelines for the Investigation of Gastroenteritis. 

Some viruses such as norovirus are highly infectious and can survive on surfaces for long periods of time.  

Key recommendations include:

• use chlorine-based disinfectants at the correct dilution. Click here for appropriate dilutions
• alternative chemicals must be registered and approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Click here for the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG)
• high touch and shared areas should receive particular attention during outbreaks including twice-daily cleaning. 

Note: Alcohol-based wipes or hand sanitisers are ineffective against norovirus.  

Faecal samples are critical for identifying the infecting pathogen and guiding control measures. Identifying an organism will assist WPHU in providing the best guidance specific to the outbreak. 

WPHU may ask Council EHOs to facilitate the collection of samples from affected individuals or facilities during an outbreak by: 

• encouraging affected individuals or premises to collect faecal samples. Samples can be collected up to 7 days post symptoms
• delivering faecal pots to a premises experiencing an outbreak
• delivering collected samples from an affected individual or premises to MDU
• liaising with WPHU.

See resources and references below for specific faecal collection instructions.

Effective outbreak management requires collaboration between:

• Local public health units (for outbreak leadership, epidemiological investigation and advice on control measures) 
• Local councils (for environmental and regulatory oversight) 
• Facility managers (for implementing control measures) 
• Health professionals (for clinical assessment and education) 
• Laboratories (for pathogen identification).

EHOs should maintain timely and transparent communication with all stakeholders, ensuring consistent public messaging and documentation. 

• Guidelines for the Investigation of Gastroenteritis for Environmental Health Officers 
• GOOA 17– Viral Gastro Facilities  
• GOOA 18 – Unknown Food & Water Facilities 
• GOOA 19 – Food Premises Facilities 
• Industry Guide Aged Care Services  
• Industry Guide Children Service Centres 
• Chlorine Dilutions Calculator  
• Faecal sample collection instructions