Alma Möller the Medical Director of Health, Friðbjörn Sigurðsson MD, Runólfur Pálsson CEO of Landspitali University Hospital and Dr. Jonas Bergquist MD and professor at Uppsala University in Sweden also gave short presentations on their view on the possibilities and challenges of the newly established Akureyri Clinic. Two ME/CFS patients, Herdís Sigurjónsdóttir and Vilborg Ása Guðjónsdóttir shared their battle with the disease.

“The Akureyri Clinic is in many ways a unique project on a national and even global scale and we are very proud to participate in this collaboration,” says Hildigunnur Svavarsdóttir, CEO of Akureyri Hospital. “The establishment of the center opens up many opportunities. With it, we can better manage the registration of ME/CFS and build a database on ME/CFS and long-COVID, which gives our researchers unparalleled opportunities for research and increased knowledge of the disease for the benefit of ME/CFS patients.”

“The establishment of the Akureyri Clinic is a much needed project, as we have seen a significant increase in the number of people diagnosed with ME/CFS in recent years, especially following Covid-19,” says Jón Helgi Björnsson, CEO of HSN. “It was therefore crucial to obtain government funding for the operation, which will allow us to begin to increase our knowledge of the nature of ME/CFS and in the process develop a more comprehensive and intensive service for ME/CFS patients nationwide, which is in great demand.”

“The establishment of the Akureyri Clinic and the strong engagement from the Icelandic government, the National Icelandic Healthcare system and the healthcare providers really acts as a fantastic raw model to the rest of Scandinavia, to Europe and the World. The tremendous problems that patients with ME/CFS and other post-infectious disorders suffers from have been very much underestimated, underdiagnosed and poorly understood. The acknowledgement of the disease, the true need for specialist care teams and collaborative research perspectives is a very important and strong statement from Akureyri and Iceland” says Jonas Bergquist, MD and professor at Uppsala University.

In addition to clinical service the Akureyri Clinic has the responsibility of developing and coordinating a nationwide registry for ME/CFS and long-Covid. This registry will definitely give unique opportunities for research. The Akureyri Clinic will also collaborate with Department of Immunology at the Landspitali University Hospital in a new research center focusing on infections and immunity in a wider perspective.

The Akureyri Clinic has a coordination role for service for ME/CFS patients nationwide. It collaborates with Landspitali University Hospital, rehabilition centers and others medical professions in Iceland that serve ME/CFS patients.

An interdisciplinary team has been set up in Akureyri that is currently composed of two MDs a nurse, two social workers, occupational therapist and physical therapist. It is important to bring together different professions to address holistically the needs of ME/CFS patients. Patients have to be referred to the Akureyri Clinic by a primary care physician.

The team has started to see patients and it is clear that the need for service for this patient group is very high.

The team is grateful for all the advice and support it has received from our colleagues and friends in the international ME/CFS field. Special thanks are given to:

• Invest in ME Research in UK and all the great medical doctors and scientist in the European ME Research Group
• Professor Jonas Bergquist, Uppsala University, Sweden
• Dr. Jesper Mehlsen and his staff at the Mehlsen Klinik, Denmark
• Professor James Baraniuk, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA
• The Board of the International Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
• The ME/CFS team at Nova Southeastern University's Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine, Florida, USA
• Vicky Whittemore PhD, at National Institute of Health, Bethesda, USA
• Dr. Michael Stingl, Vienna, Austria
• Prof. Dr. med. Carmen Scheibenbogen, Charité, Berlin, Germany
• Colleagues at PIAF-pain inflammation and fatigue, Stockholm, Sweden

The clinic could not have been established without the very important international collaboration and support.

We have high expectations of the possibilities that the Akureyri Clinic will be able to contribute internationally in the field of ME/CFS and long-Covid.