2009 swine flu pandemic in Norway

The 2009–2010 flu pandemic in Norway marked the initial phase of a new influenza pandemic. This pandemic began in the spring of 2009, the illness appeared in tourists returning from affected areas. By the summer of 2009, local person-to-person transmission within Norway was established. Soon thereafter, the number of patients being tested for swine flu exceeded capacity, and authorities recommended that only patients with severe symptoms be tested. The first Norwegian death from swine flu was reported in early September 2009.

Norway was notable among the Scandinavian countries for a high number of swine flu deaths—29 deaths as of 4 January 2010. All 19 counties of Norway had confirmed cases, and deaths occurred in five of the counties. Only Svalbard (an archipelago midway between Norway and the North Pole) had no reported cases of swine flu. About 10 million doses of flu vaccine were ordered from the pharmaceutical industry when the World Health Organization declared a pandemic. The first vaccination campaign started in Bergen, on 22 October 2009, with several hundred people queuing up. The flu was given widespread media coverage and the Norwegian government published a tally of laboratory-confirmed cases of swine flu, but made clear that this was an underestimation.