Guidelines: Gastrointestinal disease

Guidelines for those involved in outbreak prevention, investigation and control

The Health Protection Agency has developed guidelines aimed at those involved in outbreak prevention, investigation and control, for some infectious intestinal diseases.

For further information about a wide variety of gastrointestinal diseases visit the specific pages for these diseases which you can access from the main gastrointestinal disease page.

• UK Cryptosporidium Reference Unit: Guidance for the investigation of Cryptosporidium linked to swimming pools [external link]
• Cryptosporidium: Advice for public and environmental health professionals when Cryptosporidium is found in treated drinking water
• E. coli O157: The VTEC operations manual for HPA staff dealing with incidents of VTEC infection
• Norovirus: Guidelines on outbreaks in hospitals and on cruise ships

The following guidelines cover a range of infectious intestinal diseases:

• Guidelines for the prevention of person-person spread of infectious intestinal diseases
• Guidelines on infection control in schools and other childcare settings
• Preventing or controlling ill health from animal contact at visitor attraction
• Guidelines on reporting travel-associated gastrointestinal illness
• Examining food, water and environmental samples from healthcare environments
• Guidelines for assessing the safety of ready-to-eat foods placed on the market

Guidelines for the general public

• Reducing the risk of Salmonella infection from reptiles
• Avoiding infection on farm visits