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Norrbotten County Council
Medical examination of asylum-seekers and refugees
Measures motivated for reasons of infectious disease control
The National Board of Health and Welfare’s General Recommendations (1995:4) contain guidelines
concerning health and medical care for asylum seekers and refugees. The guidelines state that all
asylum seekers and refugees should be offered an individual health interview as soon as possible after
their arrival. In addition, appropriate specimens will be taken for testing and if necessary a physical
examination will also be carried out. These examinations are carried out regardless of whether a
residence permit has been granted or not.
The physical examination and specimen-taking should be individualised on the basis of the situation
and details obtained during the health interview. People arriving from Asia, Africa, Latin America,
south-eastern and eastern Europe, should, however, be offered tests according to the following
guidelines (screening for resistant bacteria applies to everyone from non-Nordic countries):
RECOMMENDED TESTS FOR REASONS OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CONTROL
Contagion/disease
Target group (age)
Examination
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis C
HIV
Syphilis
Tuberculosis
all
all
all
all
all
HbsAg (serology)
Anti-HCV (serology)
Anti-HIV (serology)
Syphilis test (serology)
- the anamnesis is important!
(known contact with TB,
coughing, emaciation/weight loss,
nocturnal perspiration, chest/back
pains, swollen skin/soft parts,
swollen lymph gland)
- a chest X-ray is the most
important method of identifying
communicable tuberculosis of the
lung
- PPD is an important screening
test, among other things for latent
extrapulmonary tuberculosis.
A lung X-ray is performed if PPD
reaction exceeds 10 mm.
anamnesis
lung X-ray
PPD test
(Children aged 718 are thus offered
both a PPD test
and a lung X-ray
under 6
Amoebiasis/Giardiasis
Bacterial intestinal
infection
Antibiotic-resistant
bacteria
age 7 and older
and in case of
anamnestic or
clinical suspicion
under 18
in case of
diarrhoea
- MRSA
- PRP
all people from
non-Nordic areas
in case of sores
and/or eczema
all children under
6 from non-Nordic
areas
29 November 2007
Anders Österlund, Infection Prevention Doctor
faeces microscopy (cysts and
parasite ova)
faeces culture
general culture – test for MRSA
nasopharyngeal culture – test for
penicillin-resistant pneumococci