Session: The Akureyri Clinic

Dr Fridbjörn Sigurdsson introduced the Akureyri Clinic, a national clinic for the treatment of ME/CFS and long COVID in Iceland. The name derives from an outbreak of ME/CFS in 1948/1949 in the Icelandic town of Akureyri, which affected almost 500 people. People with ME/CFS in Iceland severely lack medical care, as in other European countries. Since its establishment in August 2024, 400 patients have been treated at the clinic by a multidisciplinary team of nine people. However, the staffing and research resources required to establish a central registry are still lacking. Overall, there has been progress in raising awareness for people with ME/CFS. Dr. Sigurdsson emphasised that much may be learned for improving ME/CFS care from existing structures in oncology.