Mikael Andersson: Swedish experience of pandemic influenza 2009-10

On June 11th 2009, WHO declared the newly emerging H1N1 strain of influenza a pandemic, the first since the Hong Kong flu in 1968-69. Sweden immediately decided to offer all citizens two doses of the new vaccine against the disease. The vaccination program started in mid-October, focusing first on specific risk groups, and by the end of the year 61 percent of the population was vaccinated. The first Swedish case of the new influenza was diagnosed on May 6th and the first fatality reported on August 31st, but the peak of the outbreak occurred in mid-November. So far, 11 000 laboratory verified cases have been reported to the Swedish Institute of Infectious Disease Control of which 1456 were hospitalized and 27 died. This talk will review some of the epidemiological experience of the new influenza in Sweden, especially in relation to some of the neighbouring countries.