Public Health Agency of Sweden

Public Health Agency of Sweden
Folkhälsomyndigheten

Logotype of the Public Health Agency of Sweden
Agency overview
Formed 2014
Preceding agencies
  • Swedish National Institute of Public Health
  • Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control
Headquarters Solna
Employees 450
Annual budget SEK 354 M (2014)
Minister responsible
Agency executive
Parent agency Ministry of Health and Social Affairs
Key documents
  • Regleringsbrev[1]
  • Instruktion[2]
Website folkhalsomyndigheten.se

The Public Health Agency of Sweden (Swedish: Folkhälsomyndigheten) is a Swedish government agency with national responsibility for public health. It falls under the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and works to promote public health and to prevent illness and injuries through education. It monitors the health of the population, infectious disease control measures, and public health interventions, and assists the Government in its decision-making process by providing facts and knowledge. The agency is tasked with minimizing negative environmental impact on human health, and participates in the work of the EU and international public health organisations, such as the WHO and IANPHI.[1][2][3]

History

The agency was established in 2014 by a merger of the Swedish National Institute of Public Health (Folkhälsoinstitutet) and the Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control (Smittskyddsinstitutet). It took on most of the responsibilities for environmental health and for environment and public health reports previously assigned to the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen).[4]

Organisation

The agency has about 450 employees and is based in Solna. It is led by Director-General Johan Carlson, and organized into five departments: Epidemiology and Evaluation, Knowledge support, Microbiology, Communications and Administration.[4][5][6]

High-containment laboratory

The Public Health Agency of Sweden runs the only biosafety level 4 laboratory in the Nordic region — one of only six in Europe. The laboratory is located at the headquarters in Solna, and has been in operation since 2001. It is built of wholly encased steel, totally isolated from the rest of the premises. The entire building is kept at negative air pressure, to prevent any contagion spreading outdoors, and laboratory access is limited to approximately 20 employees, pre-screened by the Swedish Security Service. Patients with highly infectious diseases are usually treated at high-containment medical facilities in Linköping University Hospital or at Karolinska University Hospital.[7][8][9]

See also

For similar agencies elsewhere, please see the list of national public health agencies.

References

  1. 1 2 "Regleringsbrev". ESV. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Förordning (2013:1020) med instruktion för Folkhälsomyndigheten". The Swedish Government. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  3. ↑ "Internationellt" (in Swedish). Public Health Agency of Sweden. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Om Folkhälsomyndigheten". Public Health Agency of Sweden. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Generaldirektör och stödfunktioner". Public Health Agency of Sweden. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "Avdelningar och enheter". Public Health Agency of Sweden. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "Superlabbet kan diagnostisera ebola" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  8. ↑ "Beredda på viruskatastrofer" (in Swedish). LabTech Magazine. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  9. ↑ "På rundtur i världens säkraste labb" (in Swedish). Life Science Sweden. 16 November 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
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