Gastroenteritis in residential care facilities

There is an average of 95 outbreaks of gastroenteritis each year in residential care facilities in Western Australia. Most of these outbreaks are due to viruses (mostly norovirus or rotavirus) which can spread rapidly through a facility, infecting large numbers of both residents and staff. These viruses can spread by the faecal-oral route, by swallowing aerosolised virus (e.g. from vomitus) or via hands touching contaminated surfaces or people.

• Report gastroenteritis outbreaks to your local public health unit (external link), with outbreaks defined as two or more people in the same facility who become ill with vomiting and/or diarrhoea within a 24 hour period (above the usual number of cases in the facility).
• Ill staff should be excluded from work until they have been asymptomatic with normal stools for 48 hours.

Below are links to guidelines and forms that will help staff prevent and control gastroenteritis outbreaks.

Guidelines

Please note: from February 2015, facilities in WA are no longer required to notify outbreaks and sentinel events to the Commonwealth Office of Aged Care Quality and Compliance as described in the guidelines. Communicable Disease Control Directorate staff will notify the appropriate Commonwealth agency instead.