The aim of this study was to estimate the healthcare usage and loss of productivity due to gastroenteritis in Australia using the National Gastroenteritis Survey II. In 2008–2009, 7578 participants across Australia were surveyed about infectious gastroenteritis by telephone interview. A gastroenteritis case was defined as a person experiencing ⩾3 loose stools and/or ⩾2 vomits in a 24-h period, excluding cases with a non-infectious cause for their symptoms, such as pregnancy or consumption of alcohol. Lost productivity was considered any lost time from full- or part-time paid work due to having gastroenteritis or caring for someone with the illness. Interference with other daily activities was also examined along with predictors of healthcare-seeking practices using multivariable regression. Results were weighted to obtain nationally representative estimates using Stata v. 13·1. Of the 341 cases, 52 visited a doctor due to gastroenteritis, 126 reported taking at least one medication for their symptoms and 79 cases reported missing ⩾1 days’ paid work due to gastroenteritis. Gastroenteritis results in a total of 13·1 million (95% confidence interval 6·7–19·5) days of missed paid work each year in Australia. The indirect costs of gastroenteritis are significant, particularly from lost productivity.

Although multiple combinations of weather variability may contribute to an increased incidence of infectious gastrointestinal disease, few studies have investigated the association between weather variability and cases of infectious gastroenteritis. We acquired data for infectious gastroenteritis cases and weather variability in Fukuoka, Japan, from 1999 to 2007 and used time-series analysis to assess the effects of weather variability on infectious gastroenteritis cases, adjusting for confounding factors. In total, 422 176 infectious gastroenteritis cases were reported during the 9-year study period. The weekly number of infectious gastroenteritis cases increased by 7·7% (95% CI 4·6–10·8) for every 1°C increase in the average temperature and by 2·3% (95% CI 1·4–3·1) for every 1% decrease in relative humidity. From 1999 to 2007, infectious gastroenteritis cases increased significantly with increased average temperature and decreased relative humidity in Fukuoka, Japan.