Karl Ekdahl, MD, PhD, MSc, DTM&H

Head of Health Communication Unit

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)

Tomtebodavägen 11A, SE-171 83 Stockholm, Sweden

Tel: +46 8 5860 1130

Fax: +46 8 5860 1001

E-mail:

Web: www.ecdc.europa.eu

Education
Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), Lund University (1986)
Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (D.T.M.&H.), Mahidol University, Bangkok, (1993)
PhD (Faculty of Medicine), Lund University (1995)
MSc Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (2003)

Professional experience
Professor (infectious disease epidemiology), (2007-) and Associate Professor (1999-2007), Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
Head of Health Communication Unit (2007-) and Strategic Advisor to the Director (2005-2007), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Stockholm, Sweden
Deputy State Epidemiologist for Sweden, Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control 2001-2005

Short presentation of current research
My research is within the area of infectious disease epidemiology. Most of the projects stem from present public health problems, such as antimicrobial resistance (penicillin-resistant pneumococci and methicillin resistant staphylococci - MRSA), food-borne infections, travel related infections, and long term effects of infections, e.g. cancer after hepatitis C.

Selected references

Ekdahl K, Andersson Y. The epidemiology of travel-associated shigellosis -
regional risks, seasonality and serogroups J Infect 2005; 51:222-9.
de Jong B, Ekdahl K. The comparative burden of salmonellosis in the
European Union member states, associated and candidate countries.
BMCPublic Health 2006; 6:4.
Ekdahl K, de Jong B, Andersson Y. The risk of travel-associated typhoid
and paratyphoid fever in various regions of the world. J Travel Med 2005;
12:197-204.
Ekdahl K, Andersson Y. Imported giardiasis: impact of international
travel, immigration and adoption Am J Trop Med Hyg 2005; 72:825-30.
Jansson A, Arneborn M, Ekdahl K. Sensitivity of the Swedish statutory
surveillance system for communicable diseases 1998-2002, assessed by the
capture-recapture method. Epidemiol Infect 2005; 133:401-7.
Ekdahl K, Normann B, Andersson Y. Could flies explain the elusive
epidemiology of campylobacteriosis? BMC Infect Dis 2005, 5:112.
de Jong B, Andersson Y, Ekdahl K. Effect of regulation and education on
reptile-associated salmonellosis. Emerg Infect Dis 2005; 11:398-403.
Askling HH, Nilsson J, Tegnell A, Janzon R, Ekdahl K. Malaria risk in
travellers. Emerg Infect Dis 2005; 11:436-41.
Duberg AS, Nordström M, Törner A, Reichard O, Strauss R, Janzon R, Bäck E,
Ekdahl K. Long-term risk of lymphoma, multiple myleoma and thyroid cancer
in a Swedish hepatitis C cohort. Hepatology 2005; 41:652-9.
Ekdahl K, de Jong B, Wollin R, Andersson Y. Travel-associated
non-typhoidal salmonellosis - geographical and seasonal differences and
serotype distribution. Clin Microbiol Infect 2005; 11:138-144.
Jansson A, Arneborn M, Skärlund K, Ekdahl K. Timeliness of case reporting
in the Swedish statutory surveillance of communicable diseases 1998-2002.
Scand J Infect Dis 2004; 36:865-72.
Ekdahl K, Andersson Y. Regional risks and seasonality in travel-associated
campylobacteriosis BMC Infect Dis 2004; 4:54.
Ekdahl K, Giesecke J. Travellers returning to Sweden as sentinels for true
disease incidence in other European countries - campylobacter and giardia
infection as examples. Euro Surveill 2004; 9:3-4.
Andersson M, Ekdahl K, Mölstad S, Persson K, Hansson HB, Giesecke J. Modeling the spread of penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae in day-care and evaluation of intervention. Research Report 2001:9, Mathematical Statistics. Stockholm University, 2001 (ISSN 1650-0377).
Melander E, Ekdahl K, Jönsson G, Mölstad S. Frequency of penicillin-resistant pneumococci in children is correlated to community utilization of antibiotics. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2000; 19:1172-7.
Ekdahl K, Cars O. Role of communicable disease control measures in controlling the spread of resistant pneumococci: the Swedish model. Clin Microbiol Infect 1999 ;5:4S48-S54.
Gunnarsson O, Ekdahl K. Previous respiratory tract infections and antibiotic consumption in children with long- and short-term carriage of penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. Epidemiol Infect 1998; 121:523-8.
Melander E, Mölstad S, Persson K, Hansson HB, Söderström M, Ekdahl K. Previous antibiotics consumption and other risk factors for carriage of penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae in children. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 1998;17:834-8.
Melander E, Ekdahl K, Hansson HB, Kamme C, Laurell M, Nilsson P, Persson K. Söderström M, Mölstad S. Introduction and clonal spread of penicillin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae, serotype 9V, in southern Sweden Microb Drug Resist 1998; 4:71-8.
Ekdahl K, Ahlinder I, Hansson HB, Melander E, Mölstad S, Söderström M, Persson K. Duration of nasopharyngeal carriage of penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae: experiences from the South Swedish Pneumococcal Intervention Project Clin Infect Dis 1997; 25:1113-1117

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