Table 1.

Types of diarrhoea in terms of mechanism of action.

Gastroenteritis	Symptoms	Location	Characteristics	Bacteria
Secretor	Liquid diarrhoea	Proximal small intestine	No leukocytes Action of toxins	Vibrio cholerae ETEC Staphylococcus aureus Bacillus cereus Clostridium perfringens
Inflammatory/invasive	Dysentery	Colon	Leukocytes Invasion or cytotoxin (causes damage to the mucosa and causes inflammation)	Shigella STEC Salmonella (non-typhoidal) Vibrio parahaemolyticus Clostridium difficile Campylobacter