Campylobacter Statistics UK: 2026 Facts, Data & Key Insights

What Is Campylobacter?

Campylobacter is the most common cause of bacterial food poisoning in the UK. It is a type of bacteria found naturally in the gut of many animals — particularly poultry — and reaches humans primarily through the handling and consumption of contaminated chicken and other poultry meat. Infection causes an illness called campylobacteriosis, characterised by diarrhoea (often bloody), stomach cramps, fever, nausea, and vomiting. Most people recover within a week, but some develop serious complications.

Despite being so common, Campylobacter receives less public attention than pathogens like Salmonella, partly because it cannot be transmitted from person to person as easily and rarely causes large, headline-generating outbreaks. Instead it generates a constant, high-volume background of individual cases that collectively impose the largest bacterial food poisoning burden of any pathogen in the UK. For an overview of the broader food poisoning landscape, see our Food Poisoning Statistics UK guide.

Key Facts & Figures (Overview)

• 70,352 lab-confirmed Campylobacter cases were reported in England in 2024 — a decade high and a 17.1% increase from 60,055 cases in 2023.
• Q1 2025 figures of 15,838 reports indicate the upward trend is continuing into 2025.
• The FSA estimates approximately 299,000 cases of Campylobacter foodborne illness occur per year in the UK when underreporting is accounted for — making it the most common foodborne bacterial pathogen by far.
• Adults aged 50–79 account for 44% of all reported cases.
• Campylobacter is responsible for the second largest economic burden of any foodborne pathogen in the UK, estimated at approximately £712 million per year.
• Each confirmed case carries an average economic burden of approximately £2,380 — covering medical costs, lost productivity, and human suffering.
• Campylobacter is associated with approximately 4,340 hospital admissions in England per year — a rate of 9 per 100,000 people, up from 3 per 100,000 in 2000.
• Around 80% of Campylobacter cases are attributed to poultry — primarily chicken — making it the food safety issue most directly within the control of the food industry.
• In 2024, nine Campylobacter outbreaks were reported to UKHSA, primarily associated with chicken liver pâté and other liver products.
• Approximately 100 deaths per year are attributed to Campylobacter infection in the UK, making it one of the leading causes of foodborne death.

Scale of Campylobacter in the UK

The 2024 figure of 70,352 lab-confirmed cases represents the visible tip of the Campylobacter iceberg. The FSA estimates the true annual incidence at approximately 299,000 cases — reflecting the large number of people who experience Campylobacter illness but do not seek medical attention, are not tested, or test negative due to the timing of specimen collection.

The ratio between lab-confirmed cases and estimated true cases is approximately 4:1 — meaning for every confirmed Campylobacter case in England, approximately four additional cases occur in the community without being diagnosed.

The 2024 increase of 17.1% is the largest year-on-year rise in a decade, prompting a joint UKHSA and FSA investigation into the causes. Both improved detection through PCR testing and genuine increases in underlying transmission are believed to be contributing factors. The FSA launched a new food safety campaign in 2024 specifically addressing Campylobacter, reinforcing the 4 Cs of food hygiene.

Who Gets Campylobacter?

Unlike some foodborne pathogens that disproportionately affect young children or the elderly, Campylobacter has a remarkably broad age distribution:

• Adults aged 50–79 account for 44% of all reported cases — the largest single age group
• Cases are seen across all age groups, including children and young adults
• Infants and young children can be severely affected, with a risk of serious dehydration
• Older adults are at elevated risk of complications, prolonged illness, and hospitalisation
• Campylobacter infection in immunocompromised individuals can cause severe systemic illness

Seasonally, Campylobacter cases peak in late spring and early summer — a pattern consistently observed in UK surveillance data and attributed partly to increased barbecue cooking of poultry and partly to seasonal variations in contamination levels on farms.

Causes and Sources of Campylobacter

The FSA's extensive source attribution research identifies poultry — particularly chicken — as the dominant source of Campylobacter illness in the UK:

• Approximately 80% of Campylobacter cases are attributed to contaminated poultry
• Cross-contamination during food preparation — using the same chopping boards or utensils for raw chicken and ready-to-eat foods — is a major transmission route
• Undercooked chicken, particularly at barbecues and in catering environments, is a direct source
• Campylobacter can survive on raw poultry packaging and splash onto surfaces and hands during washing — the FSA advises never washing raw chicken before cooking
• Unpasteurised milk is a source of Campylobacter outbreaks, with multiple UK incidents linked to raw drinking milk
• Contaminated water is an occasional source, particularly in rural settings
• Contact with infected animals — including pets, farm animals, and particularly young poultry — is a recognised transmission route

In 2024, larger Campylobacter outbreaks were specifically associated with chicken liver products — pâté and parfaits — where insufficient cooking failed to reach the temperatures needed to kill Campylobacter throughout the product.

Campylobacter in the Food Industry

The food industry bears the largest direct responsibility for Campylobacter prevention, and the FSA has worked extensively with the poultry sector through targeted reduction programmes:

The FSA's Campylobacter in UK-produced chickens survey tracks contamination rates at retail. While industry has made progress in reducing the proportion of the most heavily contaminated birds, Campylobacter remains prevalent on UK chicken at supermarkets and butchers.

The key controls for food businesses handling poultry include:

• Ensuring chicken reaches a core temperature of 75°C throughout before serving
• Never using the same equipment for raw poultry and ready-to-eat foods without thorough washing and disinfection in between
• Storing raw poultry on the bottom shelf of refrigerators, covered, to prevent drip contamination
• Not washing raw chicken — which spreads contamination rather than reducing it

Campylobacter Complications

While most people recover from Campylobacter within a week without medical treatment, a significant minority develop complications:

Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) — an estimated 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 2,000 Campylobacter infections leads to GBS, a serious neurological condition in which the immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system. GBS can cause temporary paralysis and may require intensive care. It is the most serious long-term complication of Campylobacter infection.

Reactive arthritis — joint pain and inflammation affecting approximately 1–5% of Campylobacter cases, typically beginning within a week of infection and lasting weeks to months.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) — a proportion of Campylobacter cases develop post-infectious IBS, with persistent gastrointestinal symptoms continuing long after the acute infection has resolved.

Bacteraemia — Campylobacter occasionally spreads to the bloodstream, causing systemic infection. This is rare in healthy individuals but more common and more dangerous in immunocompromised patients.

The Economic Cost of Campylobacter

The FSA's Cost of Illness model estimates the total economic burden of Campylobacter at approximately £712 million per year in the UK, with an average cost of £2,380 per confirmed case. This cost includes:

• Medical costs (GP consultations, hospital treatment, laboratory testing)
• Lost productivity (days off work)
• Human costs (pain, suffering, and loss of quality of life)

This makes Campylobacter the second most costly foodborne pathogen in the UK after Norovirus (£1.68 billion per year). The combined economic burden of Campylobacter and the wider food poisoning picture is explored in our Food Poisoning Statistics UK guide.

Campylobacter and Food Hygiene Training

The persistence of Campylobacter as the UK's most common bacterial cause of food poisoning reflects gaps in food handling practice at every level of the supply chain — from farm to fork. For food businesses, the key training priorities are:

• Understanding that raw poultry carries Campylobacter as a matter of routine, not exceptional contamination
• Never washing raw chicken
• Rigorous separation of raw and ready-to-eat foods throughout storage and preparation
• Cooking to verified core temperatures
• Thorough handwashing after handling raw poultry

Food hygiene training that covers Campylobacter specifically, rather than treating all bacteria generically, produces better food safety outcomes. Our Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate is RoSPA-approved and CPD-accredited, covering Campylobacter and all major foodborne pathogens in detail.

Written by Food Safety Experts

This guide was produced by the team at Food Hygiene Certificate, a UK provider of RoSPA-approved and CPD-accredited online food hygiene training. For the full picture of food poisoning in the UK, see our Food Poisoning Statistics UK guide. For data on related pathogens, see our guides to Salmonella, E. coli, Norovirus, Listeria, and Allergen Incidents.

Sources & References

• UKHSA – Cases of Salmonella and Campylobacter Highest in a Decade (June 2025)
• Food Safety News – Early 2025 UK Data Shows Continued Rise in Infections
• FSA – Foodborne Disease Policy Overview
• FSA – The Burden of Foodborne Disease in the UK 2018
• BMJ Open – Estimating Deaths from Foodborne Disease in the UK for 11 Key Pathogens