Faecal DNA Multiplex PCR
Price range: $95.80 through $275.80
Targeted stool PCR test detecting key gastrointestinal pathogens — bacteria, parasites, and viruses — with rapid, highly sensitive DNA-based technology. Ideal for patients with acute or chronic digestive symptoms where infection needs to be ruled in or out quickly.
What is the Faecal DNA Multiplex PCR?
The Faecal DNA Multiplex PCR is a targeted stool test that uses polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology to detect the DNA of specific gastrointestinal pathogens directly in a stool sample. Unlike traditional stool culture — which relies on growing organisms in a lab and can miss many — PCR identifies pathogens at the genetic level, making it faster, more sensitive and far less likely to return a false negative.
It is particularly useful when acute or chronic GI symptoms suggest an infectious cause that standard testing has failed to identify.
Is this test for you?
The Faecal DNA Multiplex PCR is for people whose gut symptoms suggest something specific is going on:
- Acute diarrhoea, nausea or vomiting — especially after travel or food exposure
- Chronic or recurrent loose stools that haven't responded to standard treatment
- Persistent bloating, cramping or abdominal pain with no clear diagnosis
- Post-antibiotic GI symptoms (suspected C. difficile)
- Symptoms following overseas travel — even months later
- Suspected parasitic infection
- Children or elderly with unexplained GI disturbance
- A standard stool culture has come back negative but symptoms persist
What it measures
Three categories of pathogen DNA, with species-level detection that traditional culture often misses.
Bacterial Pathogens
Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, Clostridium difficile (C. diff), enterotoxigenic E. coli and other pathogenic strains — common in food poisoning, traveller's diarrhoea and post-antibiotic gut infections.
Parasites
Giardia lamblia, Cryptosporidium, Entamoeba histolytica, Blastocystis hominis, Dientamoeba fragilis. Parasitic infections are frequently missed by standard pathology and cause persistent bloating, diarrhoea and fatigue for months or years.
Sample collection
Turnaround time
From the date the laboratory receives your sample.
Samples are processed at an Australian pathology lab using validated PCR methods.
How it works
Kit dispatched
Your collection kit is posted directly to your door with full instructions.
Collect at home
Follow the simple stool collection protocol.
Post back
Mail the completed kit to the lab using the prepaid return envelope.
Results released
Your report is emailed to you the moment the lab releases it. What happens next depends on your tier —
- Test only: the report is yours to use as you see fit — no consultation included. You can book a separate consultation with Rohan later if you change your mind.
- Test + 60-min Telehealth Consult: once your results land, Rohan will email you a booking link to schedule your Zoom.
- Existing patients of the clinic: results are typically discussed at your next regular appointment as usual.
Why this test, why now?
Chronic gut symptoms get attributed to IBS far too readily. Before accepting that label, it is worth ruling out the things that are actually fixable — a parasite, a low-grade bacterial infection, a C. diff overgrowth from previous antibiotics. Standard stool culture misses a high proportion of these. PCR doesn't.
If your symptoms followed a clear trigger (travel, food poisoning, antibiotics) or have simply not been explained, this is the fastest, most sensitive way to rule infection in or out.
Why Elemental Health and Nutrition?
Rohan uses PCR-based stool testing as a frontline tool for patients with persistent GI symptoms that standard pathology has failed to explain. With Test + 60-min Telehealth Consult, your appointment delivers a clear, prioritised treatment strategy covering antimicrobial protocols, gut-repair nutrition and any further testing (Microba, OAT) that may be warranted.
