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HEALTH

Sweden registers second confirmed case of monkeypox

A second case of of monkey pox has been confirmed in Sweden, the Swedish Public Health Agency said on Wednesday.

This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention shows a monkeypox virion, obtained from a sample associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak.
This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention shows a monkeypox virion, obtained from a sample associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. Photo: Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner/CDC via AP

The person who has been confirmed as infected, is from Västra Götaland and is said to be well and is not being cared for in hospital.

The first case of monkey pox in Sweden was confirmed on Thursday last week.

“The current outbreak shows what appears to be a new route of transmission, which means that we are now building new knowledge. The recommendations will therefore be updated in connection with more information being added,” Sara Byfors, Head of Department at the Swedish Public Health Agency said.

The rare disease usually manifests itself through fever, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion and a rash on the hands and face.

Monkeypox typically has an incubation period of six to 16 days, but it can be as long as 21 days. Once lesions have scabbed over and fallen off, the person with the virus is no longer infectious.

Unlike Covid-19, you can only infect others when you yourself have symptoms. Infection can occur via the respiratory tract or close contact with body fluids.

Several dozen suspected or confirmed cases of monkeypox have been detected since the beginning of May in Europe and North America.

Denmark has ordered thousands of vaccines against monkeypox, with the first 200 arriving from the Netherlands on Friday. The move comes following the first case of the virus in Denmark was reported on Monday and a second case early on Tuesday.

The vaccinations will be given to people who have been in close contact with those infected with the virus, although the Danish Health Ministry said risk to the general population remains very low. 

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STRIKES

Swedish nurses and midwives threaten to walk out in full-blown strike

The Swedish Association of Health Professionals is threatening to scale up an overtime ban to an all-out strike at some of Sweden's biggest hospitals from June 4th.

Swedish nurses and midwives threaten to walk out in full-blown strike

“We’re striking because we are serious about saving healthcare,” the union’s chairperson Sineva Ribiero said in a statement. “Our members need shorter working hours in order to be able to work for the entirety of their careers in healthcare.”

A blockade on overtime and new hires has been in place for 63,000 members of the union in all Swedish regions since April 25th, which was extended to 5,000 municipal employees in 29 municipalities from May 20th. Healthcare is run regionally in Sweden, but municipalities organise welfare services such as elderly care and school nurses.

Almost a third of the union’s members work part time, with many stating that they do so as they are physically unable to work full time, in a report written by the union. Four out of ten young people said in the same report that they do not expect to work in healthcare for their entire career, although many did say that they may work full time if working hours are shortened.

The new walkout will cover some 2,000 nurses, midwives, biomedical analysts and radiology nurses in five regions: Stockholm, Västra Götaland, Skåne, Östergötland and Västerbotten.

Seven hospitals will be affected: Skåne University Hospital in Malmö, Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Karolinska University Hospital in Solna, Linköping University Hospital, Norrland University Hospital in Umeå, as well as Danderyd Hospital and Södersjukhuset in Stockholm.

“We’ve decided to launch a strike at these hospitals for a number of reasons,” Ribiero said. “They’re major employers and have a significant responsibility for the workload and working hours we want to improve. We also have many members in these hospitals, and there are alternatives for patients whose treatment could be affected by the groups who will be striking.”

Psychiatry and pediatric nurses will not be included in the strike, and the union said it had worked to ensure that it will not put patients’ lives or health at risk.

“We are striking responsibly by including exemptions for cancer treatment, child healthcare and life-threatening illnesses, for example,” Ribiero said.

“The employers now have two weeks to prepare and adapt so they can continue to offer citizens good healthcare and treatment. It’s important that they take this work seriously.”

The new hire blockade will be partially lifted from June 4th, so that new graduates who will be taking their final exams in June, who would otherwise be affected, will be able to start work as soon as their qualifications are issued.

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