1948-49 Akureyri outbreak

The Akureyri outbreak was an outbreak of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis in Northern Iceland during the winter of 1948-1949. It was after this outbreak that the term "Icelandic disease," an early name for myalgic encephalomyelitis, was coined.

The systemic form of the illness was present in 70% of patients with the characteristic low fever, muscle tenderness and marked lassitude.

When an American airman was affected in the 1955 epidemic and returned home, a similar secondary epidemic occurred in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A. (Hart, 1969: Henderson and Shelokov, 1959).