Obligation to notify
All municipalities, regions and public authorities in Sweden that receive information about a suspected or confirmed incident that could cause an international threat to human health must immediately inform the duty officer at the Public Health Agency of Sweden. This obligation to notify does not mean that there are any changes to the respective authority’s responsibility to manage the incident and take action.
An international threat to human health is when there is a risk that an infectious agent or other substance that poses a serious threat to human health could be or has been brought into a country or spread to other countries.
What needs to be reported to the Public Health Agency of Sweden?
The Public Health Agency of Sweden must be notified of events that could pose an international threat to human health, such as communicable diseases, the release of chemical and radiological and nuclear substances, or other event that can affect human health due to an unknown reason.
The following questions can guide decision-making when determining whether an event could pose an international threat to human health:
- Is the public health impact of the event serious?
- Is the event unusual or unexpected?
- Is there a significant risk of international spread?
- Is there a significant risk of international travel or trade restrictions?
Always report an incident to the duty officer at the Public Health Agency of Sweden if the answer is yes to one or more of these questions.
Certain diseases must always be reported:
- Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
- smallpox
- polio
- plague
- cholera
- yellow fever
- human influenza caused by novel subtype
- Viral haemorrhagic fevers (not nephropathia epidemica)
- West Nile fever
What the report needs to contain
The report sent to the Public Health Agency of Sweden must contain information about:
- The infectious agent or other substance involved in the incident
- Epidemiological details significant to the needs assessment (e.g., those affected, do they belong to a specific group, when, where, how many, symptoms etc.)
- Risk of it spreading
- Actions taken to prevent the spread
- Which authorities and other parties have been contacted
- Other information about significant conditions specific to the area (e.g., large events ongoing in the region)
- The name of the municipality/region/authority submitting the report
- Contact details for the person submitting the report and the responsible functionary/person in the municipality/region/authority.
The Public Health Agency of Sweden is the national focal point for IHR
The Agency was appointed national focal point for IHR on 1 July 2015. The Public Health Agency of Sweden will collaborate with the relevant authorities and assess all reported suspected cases. The Agency will use four questions and an assessment system to determine if there is an international threat to human health. If such a threat is identified, the Agency will notify the WHO within 24 hours. The Public Health Agency of Sweden is also obliged to keep the relevant public authorities, municipalities and regions up to date with information about the measures being taken.