Laboratory tests for diagnosing Gastroenteritis/foodborne intoxication
Gastroenteritis/foodborne intoxication should be recorded using name of specific disease or toxin.  Generally the presence of the organism or toxin can be regarded as a positive result but the result may need to be interpreted in relation to symptoms, incubation times, food history etc.

Bacillus cereus food intoxication:  Isolation of ≥ 10³/g B. cereus from a clinical specimen or ≥ 10⁴ B. cereus from leftover food or detection of diarrhoeal toxin in a faecal sample.

Botulism:  Detection of botulinum toxin in serum, faeces or leftover food.

Chemical food poisoning:  Detection of implicated chemical in leftover food.

Ciguatera fish poisoning:  Demonstration of  ciguatoxin in implicated fish.

Clostridium perfringens food intoxication:  Detection of enterotoxin in faecal specimen or faecal spore count of ≥ 10⁶/gram or isolation of ≥ 10⁵C. perfringens in leftover food.

Histamine (scombroid) poisoning:  Detection of histamine levels ≥ 50mg/100g fish muscle.

Norovirus gastroenteritis:  Detection of NLV in faecal or vomit specimen or leftover food.

Other viral gastroenteritis:  Detection of virus in faecal or blood specimen.

Rotavirus gastroenteritis:  Detection of rotavirus antigen in faecal specimen.

Staphylococcal food intoxication: Detection of enterotoxin in faecal or vomit specimen or in leftover food or isolation of ≥ 10³/gram coagulase-positive S. aureus from faecal or vomit specimen or ≥ 10⁵ from leftover food.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection:  Isolation of Kanagawa-positive or pathogenic serotype of V. parahaemolyticus from a faecal specimen or isolation of ≥ 10⁵/gram V. parahaemolyticus from leftover food.

Laboratory tests for diagnosing for other Notifiable Enteric Diseases

Campylobacteriosis: Campylobacteriosis – Laboratory criteria

Cholera:  Cholera – Laboratory criteria

Cryptosporidiosis:  Cryptosporidiosis – Laboratory criteria

Giardiasis: Giardiasis – Laboratory criteria

Paratyphoid: Paratyphoid fever – Laboratory criteria

Salmonellosis:  Salmonellosis – Laboratory criteria

Shigellosis: Shigellosis – Laboratory criteria

Typhoid:  Typhoid fever – Laboratory criteria

Yersiniosis: Yersiniosis – Laboratory criteria