Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jun 10:20:101105.
doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2025.101105. eCollection 2025 Jun.

Effects of the 2018 European summer heatwave on the incidence of sporadic bacterial gastroenteritis in a temperate maritime climate region (Republic of Ireland)

Martin Boudou  1 , Patricia Garvey  2 , Coilín ÓhAiseadha  3 , Jean O'Dwyer  4 , Daniel T Burke  5 , Paul Hynds  5
Affiliations

Effects of the 2018 European summer heatwave on the incidence of sporadic bacterial gastroenteritis in a temperate maritime climate region (Republic of Ireland)

Martin Boudou et al. One Health. .

Abstract

Background: The IPCC recognises that climate change and associated extreme weather events (EWEs), including heatwaves, will incur negative human health impacts. In Ireland, projections indicate more frequent and severe EWEs, however, research on the health impacts of heatwaves in temperate regions is still in its infancy.

Purpose/aims/objectives: We aimed to analyse the spatiotemporal characteristics of two bacterial infections (STEC enteritis and campylobacteriosis) to quantify the public health effects of the 2018 European summer heatwave in Ireland.

Materials and methods: Additive decomposition and Interrupted Time-Series Analyses (ITSA) were used to quantify effects. Excess weekly cases were calculated based on pre/post-event conditions across several case delineations (e.g., gender, age, serotype and settlement pattern.

Results: Findings suggest that the summer 2018 heatwave was responsible for a minimum of 169 excess case notifications of campylobacteriosis (n = 101) and STEC enteritis (n = 68). Heatwave effects were immediate (i.e., within 10 days, p = 0.0019) on campylobacteriosis cases. Significant increases were observed among males, younger adults, and urban residents. STEC enteritis notification did not immediately change, but lagged effects (≥4 weeks, p < 0.001) were noted, with significant case notification increases identified among older adults (>65 years) and rural dwellers, alongside a notable increase in STEC O26 cases (p = 0.026).

Conclusions: Conditions during the 2018 European summer heatwave facilitated increased case numbers of STEC enteritis and campylobacteriosis across Ireland, in concurrence with shifting demographic and geographic transmission patterns. With climate change likely favouring bacterial proliferation, further increases and pattern shifts are expected.

Keywords: Campylobacteriosis; Climate change; Epidemiology; Extreme weather; Heatwave; Interrupted time-series analyses; STEC enteritis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

All authors confirm that no financial or personal relationships with other people or organizations exist that could inappropriately influence (bias) the submitted work.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Geographical zonation based on CSO 2016 Small Areas (N = 18,641).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Seasonally adjusted time-series of campylobacteriosis incidence in the Republic of Ireland (2011–2018).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Seasonally adjusted time-series of sporadic STEC incidence in the Republic of Ireland (2013−2020).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Spatial hot and cold spots of campylobacteriosis incidence rate/100 k people (Getis-Ord Gi*) – (a) Prior & post heatwave period – (b) Heatwave period.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Spatial hot and cold spots of STEC incidence rate/100 k people (Getis-Ord Gi*) – (a) Prior & post heatwave period – (b) Heatwave period.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Vogel M.M., Zscheischler J., Wartenburger R., Dee D., Seneviratne S.I. Concurrent 2018 hot extremes across northern hemisphere due to human-induced climate change. Earth’s Future. 2019;7(7):692–703. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Beillouin D., Schauberger B., Bastos A., Ciais P., Makowski D. Impact of extreme weather conditions on European crop production in 2018. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B. 2020;375(1810):20190510. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Schuldt B., et al. A first assessment of the impact of the extreme 2018 summer drought on central European forests. Basic Appl. Ecol. 2020;45:86–103.
    1. Krikken F., Lehner F., Haustein K., Drobyshev I., van Oldenborgh G.J. Attribution of the role of climate change in the forest fires in Sweden 2018. Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. 2021;21(7):2169–2179.
    1. Rösner B., et al. The long heat wave and drought in Europe in 2018. Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 2019;100(9):S222–S223.

LinkOut - more resources