The agency, which tracks the spread of virus every year through laboratory statistics and searches on healthcare website 1177.se, reports that the season has now officially started, meaning that healthcare providers and society in general can assume there will be an increased number of infections in coming weeks.
The viruses causing the illness, calicivirus, which includes norovirus and sapovirus, are highly contagious, but can be stopped by practising good hand hygiene. The illness is present in society throughout the year, but the number of cases usually increases between November and April.
"It's not possible to say yet how much it will spread this season," deputy state epidemiologist Erik Sturegård said in a statement. "Last season we saw more cases than the year before. The most intensive weeks were in February, compared to April the season before that."
"One of the most important measures to protect yourself and others from infection is good hand hygiene," he added. "Especially in healthcare and social care. The risk of infection can be lowered by following routines for good hygiene in care."
Most kinds of hand disinfectants are not sufficient, the agency warns, so those wanting to stop the spread of the virus are better off carefully washing their hands with soap and water. Hand gel can be used after hand-washing to protect against other bacteria and viruses.
There is no vaccine or medicine for the bug.
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