Hospital admissions for waterborne diseases up by 60% in England - data

Water-borne diseases such as dysentery and Weil’s disease have risen by 60% since 2010 in England, new fi gures reveal.

- Helena Horton

Analysis of NHS hospital admissions by the Labour party has found that the number of people admitted to hospital with diseases transmitted via water borne infection has increased from 2,085 people in 201011 to 3,286 in 2022-23.

The analysis follows widespread anger after record sewage spills were revealed this week, with Environment Agency data show ing that raw sewage was discharged for more than 3.6m hours into rivers and seas last year – a 105% increase on the previous 12 months.

Larger amounts of raw sewage in rivers means there is an increased likelihood of infections, argue campaigners, as people are more likely to come into contact with the bacteria in human waste.

Over the last year , 122 people were diagnosed with leptospirosis (Weil’s disease), double the number diagnosed with the same disease in 2010.