Comparing healthcare needs by language: interpreted Arabic and Somali telehealth calls in two regions of Sweden, 2014-18.

Background: Limited language fluency can impede healthcare system navigation. In Sweden, the national telehealth line (Healthcare Guide 1177) offers interpretation in Arabic and Somali. We compared calls by language to identify differences in healthcare use for immigrant populations, focusing on three contact causes: pregnancy; vomiting or nausea in children; and worry/anxiety.

Investigating novel approaches to tick-borne encephalitis surveillance in Sweden, 2010-2017.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a vaccine-preventable, high-priority disease in Sweden, with increasing incidence. However, surveillance is limited to case reports. We investigated relationships between reported TBE incidence and syndromic surveillance data to determine if these novel data sources could provide earlier indications of disease activity.

[High mortality during the 2018 heatwave in Sweden].

During the summer of 2018 large parts of Sweden experienced a record-breaking heatwave regarding temperatures and duration. Previous studies from Sweden with less extreme heat have shown that daily mortality is expected to increase during periods with high temperatures.  Between the 2nd of July and 5th of August, the period in 2018 with the highest temperatures, 635 more deaths were observed in Sweden compared to the same period in 2017.

Two outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis associated with cattle spring pasture events.

Over a period of less than four weeks, 50 human cases of cryptosporidiosis were reported from a relatively small geographical area in Sweden. All cases were associated with visits to cattle spring pasture events at two farms (referred to as Farm A and B). Epidemiological and microbiological evidence show that contact with calves at the farms was the most likely source of Cryptosporidium infections.

Early outbreak detection by linking health advice line calls to water distribution areas retrospectively demonstrated in a large waterborne outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in Sweden.

Background: In the winter and spring of 2011 a large outbreak of cryptosporidiosis occurred in Skellefteå municipality, Sweden. This study summarizes the outbreak investigation in terms of outbreak size, duration, clinical characteristics, possible source(s) and the potential for earlier detection using calls to a health advice line.

Methods: The investigation included two epidemiological questionnaires and microbial analysis of samples from patients, water and other environmental sources.