Is RSV going around in Sweden?

Sweden's RSV season typically runs from late autumn through early spring, with peaks most often between January and March. The season's intensity and exact timing vary year to year, and post-pandemic seasons have been less predictable than pre-2020 ones. Folkhälsomyndigheten publishes weekly RSV updates alongside flu and SARS-CoV-2.

RSV surveillance in Sweden relies on mandatory laboratory reporting via the Svebar network, supplemented by sentinel physician reports and regional hospital data. Folkhälsomyndigheten publishes weekly RSV activity tiers and contributes the data to ECDC's ERVISS, which places Sweden's RSV trajectory next to the rest of the EU/EEA.

The groups most affected are infants under six months, preterm babies, and adults aged 60 and older, particularly those with underlying heart or lung disease. In these groups RSV can cause severe bronchiolitis or pneumonia. Swedish clinical practice has adopted both infant prophylactic antibodies and adult RSV vaccination for qualifying risk groups, consistent with broader European guidance.

Because Sweden reports into ERVISS with the same tiering as the rest of the EU/EEA, its RSV curve can be compared directly with neighbours. Nordic RSV peaks often cluster within a few weeks of each other, slightly later than central European peaks. This makes ECDC's side-by-side dashboard useful for anticipating paediatric pressure across borders.

In Swedish surveillance, flu and RSV appear as separate positivity streams within the same respiratory panel. RSV disproportionately hits infants and the very elderly, while flu burden spreads across age bands. Symptom overlap between the two viruses is wide, so the distinction is drawn from laboratory testing rather than clinical impression.