Research and analysis

Campylobacter data 2014 to 2023

Updated 9 April 2025

Main points for 2023

The main points of the 2023 report are:

• the number of reported Campylobacter cases in England rose from 54,884 cases in 2022 to 60,014 cases in 2023, an increase of 5,130 cases (9.4%)

• the region with the highest number of Campylobacter laboratory reports was the South East with 11,140 reports, however the region with the highest reporting rate was the North East at 137.1 reports per 100,000 population

• overall, 55.4% of Campylobacter laboratory-confirmed cases in England were male

• the age groups with the highest number of laboratory reports were the 50 to 59 years and 60 to 69 years, at 15.3% and 15.5% of total reports respectively

• consistent with the previous 5-year median, in 2023 Campylobacter reporting peaked in the month of June

• species were identified for 22.2% of laboratory reports, the majority of which were Campylobacter jejuni (89.1% of all speciated samples)

Methods

All data presented in this report is correct as of 24 June 2024. This report covers all Campylobacter species in England. As a live laboratory reporting system was used for extraction, the data are subject to change and historical totals may differ slightly. The laboratory report date was used for all data analyses in this report.

Population data was sourced from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for England. Mid-year population estimates for the relevant year were used to provide denominators for the calculation of rates. All rates are calculated as per 100,000 population.

Regional classification was based on place of residence of reported cases and classified using the Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics, level (NUTS1) codes.

The deprivation level of an area (Index of Multiple Deprivation or IMD decile) was mapped to each case using patient home postcode.

When calculating the median of the previous 5 years, 2020 was excluded due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, therefore the 5-year median was calculated from the same period in 2017 to 2019 and 2021 to 2022.

COVID-19 pandemic

During 2020 it is likely that the emergence of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), with subsequent non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented to control COVID-19 transmission affected notifications of Campylobacter infections to national surveillance in several ways. These include, but are not limited to, changes which may have impacted ascertainment (for examples changes in healthcare seeking behaviour, access to health care, availability, or capacity of testing etc) as well as changes which likely impacted incidence (for example limited foreign travel, closure of hospitality venues and attractions or behavioural changes around food consumption etc.) which will have also varied over time. Therefore, trends presented in this report should be interpreted with caution, and 2020 data (the year a notable impact on Campylobacter reporting to national surveillance was observed (1)) are excluded when 5-year medians are calculated.

The magnitude and duration of the impacts on reporting differed by gastrointestinal pathogen due to differences in severity, transmission routes and risk factors (2, 3). Therefore, the number of years impacted and consequentially excluded from the calculation of 5-year medians also differs by pathogen, for example only 2020 for Campylobacter but 2020 and 2021 for Salmonella.

Campylobacter Laboratory data for 2014 to 2024

Annual data 2014 to 2023

Figure 1 and Table 1 show the trend of Campylobacter laboratory reports in England from 2014 to 2023. The rate of Campylobacter laboratory reports per 100,000 population increased by 9.4% from 2022 to 2023.

Figure 1. Annual laboratory reports of Campylobacter in England from 2014 to 2023

Table 1. Annual laboratory reports of Campylobacter in England from 2014 to 2023

Year	Number of laboratory reports	Laboratory reports per 100,000 population
2014	58,496	107.6
2015	51,817	94.5
2016	49,077	88.8
2017	52,818	95.0
2018	56,287	100.6
2019	56,440	100.4
2020	44,728	79.4
2021	56,235	99.4
2022	54,884	96.1
2023	60,014	104.0

Regional data in 2023

Table 2 displays the number of Campylobacter laboratory reports per region in 2023 as well as the rate per 100,000 population.

Compared to 2022, the rate of Campylobacter laboratory reports per 100,000 population increased during 2023 in all regions and were broadly comparable, except in the East Midlands where the rate dropped by 1.2% from 93.9 to 92.4 reports per 100,000 population. In 2023, the North East of England had the highest rate of reporting at 137.1 laboratory reports per 100,000 population and the lowest rate was in London, with 75.0 laboratory reports per 100,000 population. The largest rate increases compared to 2022 were in London (up 16.6%) and the South East (up 15.2%), which rose from 64.3 to 75.0 and 102.0 to 117.5 respectively.

Table 2. Regional distribution of laboratory reports of Campylobacter in England 2023

Region	Laboratory reports	Laboratory reports per 100,000 population
East Midlands	4,612	92.4
East of England	5,776	89.3
London	6,707	75.0
North East	3,717	137.1
North West	8,076	106.3
South East	11,140	117.5
South West	7,153	123.1
West Midlands	6,582	108.2
Yorkshire and the Humber	6,251	111.7

Age and sex distribution in 2023

Figure 2 shows the age and sex distribution of Campylobacter laboratory reports in England during 2023, 28 laboratory reports were excluded where case age or sex was unknown. Overall, 55.4% of reported cases were male and the most affected age groups were 50 to 59 years and 60 to 69 years, accounting for 15.3% and 15.5% of total laboratory reports respectively.

Figure 2. Age and sex distribution of laboratory reports of Campylobacter in England in 2023 (n = 59,986)

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) in 2023

Table 3 displays the number of Campylobacter cases resident in postcodes of each Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) decile. Valid postcodes were unavailable for 326 cases so could not be matched to IMD decile. The median IMD decile of Campylobacter cases was 6 (inter quartile range: 3 to 8).

Table 3. Number of Campylobacter cases per IMD decile in England during 2023

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) deciles	Total number of cases (%)
1 (Most deprived)	4,937 (8.3)
2	5,164 (8.7)
3	5,389 (9.0)
4	5,847 (9.8)
5	6,079 (10.2)
6	6,369 (10.7)
7	6,319 (10.6)
8	6,525 (10.9)
9	6,534 (10.9)
10 (Least deprived)	6,525 (10.9)
Total	59,688

Seasonal variation in 2023

Figure 3 shows the seasonal trend of laboratory reporting for Campylobacter in England during 2023 by month. In 2023, the number of laboratory reports per month broadly followed the same trend as the median of the previous 5 years, 2017 to 2019 and 2021 to 2022 (excluding 2020), with peak reporting in June.

Figure 3. Seasonality of laboratory reports of all Campylobacter species in England in 2023

Campylobacter typing in 2023

In 2023, 22.2% of Campylobacter samples (n = 13,307) in England were speciated by diagnostic laboratories. The majority of the speciated Campylobacter samples were Campylobacter jejuni, 89.1% (n = 11,862) followed by Campylobacter coli, 9.8% (n = 1,300).

Foodborne outbreak data in 2023

Table 4. Foodborne outbreaks of Campylobacter reported in England in 2023 [Note 1]

Agent	Total affected	Laboratory confirmed	Hospital admissions [Note 2]	Deaths [Note 2]	Setting	Food description
Campylobacter species	18	18	0	0	Restaurant	Unknown
Campylobacter species	Unknown	2	0	0	Other	Unknown
Campylobacter jejuni	3	1	0	Unknown	Nursing or care home	Unknown
Campylobacter species	11	3	2	0	Nursing or care home	Unknown
Campylobacter species	4	0	0	0	Kebab shop	Poultry meat

Note 1: Number of cases affected, and number laboratory confirmed is for cases resident in England.

Note 2: Clinical outcome is not known for all cases and the data reported represents cases who have hospitalisations or deaths reported to national surveillance.

Conclusions

In 2023, although the number of Campylobacter laboratory reports increased by 9.4% compared to 2022 and was higher than that seen in previous years, the rate per 100,000 population did not exceed previous years, with 2014 still the highest at 107.6 reports per 100,000 population. Data from 2020 should be interpreted with caution given the multi-factorial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on reporting and for this reason 2020 is not included in the calculation of the 5-year median.

Similar to 2022, the highest number of laboratory-confirmed cases were in the South East, and June was the peak month for reported cases consistent with the 5-year median from 2017 to 2019 and 2021 to 2022. More male cases (55.4%) were reported than female cases with 50 to 60 years and 60 to 69 years being the most affected age group. Overall, only a total of 22.2% of isolates were tested to the species level at diagnostic laboratories, and the majority of these were Campylobacter jejuni.

Five outbreaks of Campylobacter were reported to national surveillance in 2023, comprising 36 known cases of which 24 cases were laboratory confirmed. One outbreak was associated with the consumption of poultry meat and no food sources were identified for the other 4 outbreaks.

Data sources

This report was produced using data derived from 2 data sources. The first is the Second Generation Surveillance System (SGSS) run by UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) (formerly Public Health England (PHE)). This is a live laboratory reporting system therefore numbers are subject to change. In 2014, PHE upgraded the laboratory reporting system so direct comparisons between data reported from the previous system (LabBase2) and the new system (SGSS) requires cautious interpretation.

The second data source is the Gastrointestinal Infections, Food Safety and One Health  (GIFSOH) Division’s Electronic Foodborne and non-foodborne Outbreak Surveillance System (eFOSS), which is also a live laboratory reporting system and therefore numbers are subject to change.

The population data used for England was sourced from the ONS. Mid-year 2022 and 2023 estimates are available at the ONS population estimates.

Data caveats

This report was produced using laboratory data for England only, therefore the number of Campylobacter laboratory reports published in previous reports which include data from other UK countries may differ to those included in this report.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to:

• the NHS and private sector diagnostic laboratories, microbiologists and local authorities, health protection and environmental health specialists who have contributed data and reports to national surveillance systems, including those who have investigated and reported outbreaks to the electronic foodborne and non-foodborne gastrointestinal outbreak surveillance system (eFOSS)
• the epidemiologists and information officers who have worked on the national surveillance of intestinal infectious diseases
• colleagues in the Gastrointestinal Bacteria Reference Unit (GBRU) for providing the Reference Laboratory Services and laboratory surveillance functions and expertise
• UKHSA (formerly PHE) Information Management Department for maintenance and quality assurance of UKHSA national surveillance databases used for Gastrointestinal Infections (GI) pathogen surveillance at the national level
• UKHSA (formerly PHE) Local Public Health Laboratories and Food Water and Environmental Microbiology Services for providing a surveillance function for GI pathogens and testing of food and environmental samples routinely and during outbreak investigations

Prepared by: Gastrointestinal Infections, Food Safety and One Health Division, UKHSA
For queries relating to this document, please contact EEDD@ukhsa.gov.uk

References

1. Ondrikova N, Clough HE, Douglas A, Iturriza-Gomara M, Larkin L, Vivancos R, Harris JP, Cunliffe NA. ‘Differential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on laboratory reporting of norovirus and Campylobacter in England: a modelling approach’ PLoS One 2021:volume 16, issue 8, article e0256638

2. Love NK, Douglas A, Gharbia S, Hughes H, Morbey R, Oliver I, Smith GE, Elliot AJ. ‘Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic response on GI infection surveillance trends in England, January 2020 to April 2022’ Epidemiology and Infection 2023: volume 151, article e147

3. Love NK, Elliot AJ, Chalmers RM, Douglas A, Gharbia S, McCormick J, Hughes H, Morbey R, Oliver I, Vivancos R, Smith G. ‘Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gastrointestinal infection trends in England, February to July 2020’ BMJ Open 2022: volume 12, issue 3, article e050469