Investigation of an outbreak of gastroenteritis on a container ship returning from Asia

Abstract

This article describes action taken when the NSW Health Department responded to a notification by the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) that 13 crew members on an Australian container ship, due to dock at Port Botany, had been unwell with a diarrhoeal illness .The ship had travelled to Asia and the notification was received four days before it was due to berth in Sydney on its return trip.